Whenever everyone seems to be in the thrall of serial panic attacks I check out. I invite you to do the same. Nothing good comes from following the herd. Allowing oneself to be manipulated or stampeded is a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Doubt me? Remember when misplaced classified paperwork started coming out of Joe Biden’s ears? Remember how that very week a giant Chinese spy balloon materialized in Montana? Remember how the balloon teabagged the continental United States for several days? What happened with the paperwork? You forgot about the paperwork didn’t ya’?
Whenever enough people stop to think they begin to discover uncomfortable things. As soon as enough people wonder too much, like maybe whether the CDC was a good faith source of information about masks… oh look! The Ukraine is winning, or losing, or the whole thing is about to go nuclear, or whatever… Stop thinking and look at the shiny thing!
Don’t fall for it. Keep your feet where they belong, on the muddy earth of the real world.
I’m still pinned down in the long winter of the northland but I understand weather cycles like Al Gore doesn’t. Winter won’t last forever. As Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “in the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love motorcycles.”
In efforts to reduce my daily dosage of dipshits, and in joyous embrace of nearly forgotten youthful simplicity, I’ve been returning more and more to nature. Spring, fall, and summer are when that’s easiest. While everyone hid from each other over Covid and then rushed to bunch up cheek by jowl in a mosh pit to righteously torch Portland, I was elsewhere.
I’d been rambling aimlessly on Honey Badger, my cheap and delightful Yamaha TW200. (I’ve also done overdue maintenance on my cruiser, a Honda Shadow nearly old enough for classic plates in some states. Unfortunately, the cruiser has been mostly ignored while I bounce over tree stumps on the brash little shitbox of the Yamaha. Who knew a farm bike could be so much fun?)
A TW200 isn’t perfect for all things. It does moderately low highway-ish speeds like a politician tells the truth. It can do 55 MPH but it’s painful and noisy and you can tell the bike would rather be beaten with sticks. To ameliorate this, I got in the habit of trailering the little bike behind my behemoth truck. I’d tank up with diesel (quite expensively given the Bidenverse’s fuel prices) and drag my long suffering utility trailer with it’s small cargo to nowhere important. I’d park and spend my evenings happily camping (enjoying the novelty of bulky, heavy camping gear). During the day I’d zip around the forests more or less for free (the TW gets roughly 80 MPG).
Unfortunately, the utility trailer has had a hard life; not the least of which was me mounting my sailboat on it and driving it into a lake as if it were a boat trailer. It’s pretty shot and I didn’t dare take it far. It will soon find its way to trailer Valhalla. Despite still being trapped in the time of snowdrifts and ice, I’ve been shopping for a new motorcycle trailer. Don’t sweat it, I’ve got a line on one. I’ll post details in due time.
With a good trailer the concern of distance fades. New options appear. I can trailer 100 miles, or 1,000 miles. It’s all the same. From wherever I go I can setup base camp and have Honey Badger adventures. I don’t care if politics drives the world into the dark ages, I’ve got a fun summer planned!
Ahhh but lets indulge in whatever flights of fancy come to mind. A TW200 is small, too small for long multi-day camping trips. But is it? I watched Ed March ride a diminutive C90 from Alaska to Argentina. Stupid or not… it happened.
Is that a one off? An unlikely product of Ed’s unstoppable moxie? Nope. Angelo Giannie rode a CT125 across the continental United States. Just like Ed March, Angelo documented every step of the trip on YouTube.
I dream. But if I dream of what can actually be done, I can make it happen. What a C90 or a CT125 can do, a TW200 can do. Why not?
But lets step back a bit. I’m a busy guy and there’s a lot of logistics in such an endeavor. Time to take it easy and test the waters slowly. Mostly, I’ve grown attached to my luxurious Dodge carried cot. I love that cot! A TW200 trip will have me sleeping on the dirt again and that’s a thing that one might transition to slowly. Maybe a few mild overnighters.
Be it resolved, I shall trailer to somewhere obscure and try a few mild overnighters.
Also, lest I forget a big inspiration in this direction, TDubsKid has been doing just about anything you’d imagine on his TW200 and that includes camping.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE.
While happily pondering the ultra-small gear I’d need to ride a pipsqueak farmbike into places most people won’t go (like the middle of some desert or in a swamp), I forgot other options. Thankfully, I stumbled across HerTwoWheels, which reminded me of tamer options for my very reliable and much larger cruiser:
A Harley? No shit! Lots of people camp from cruisers (and I’ve done it myself) but for some reason I hadn’t considered such a thing. I’ve been riding Honey Badger in swamps that would eat a Harley and spit out parts… and that gave me blinders to forget there’s a whole world of pavement out there. My Shadow is functionally the same as a basic Harley bagger (I would say better but that’s a discussion for another day). If a Harley can do it then a Shadow can. (Assuming I manage that “sleep on the ground” issue.)
Also, HerTwoWheels makes a point about going solo. I ride solo too. Always. Oddly, modern people (maybe it’s an always thing and not a modern thing?) never do anything solo. Except me, of course. It’s a nice reminder to see HerTwoWheels do the occasional campout on her own. (I should also mention The Emporium Outdoors does his thing with anything from an Argo to a brand new Jeep but he does it accompanied only by his photogenic dog. TDubsKid also rides and camps solo. Ed March is an entirely different critter altogether. He’s his own entire universe of self-reliance and could probably carry his bike on his shoulders if he had to.)
So now, one idea has turned to two; and perhaps many.
What will happen? I’ve no idea. Frankly I hadn’t budgeted for anything too extravagant in 2023. Yet the mind builds ideas that I’ll presumably indulge in due time.
I know what can be done with what I’ve got; and it’s plenty. My logistics look good (this is not by accident). I like to ponder what shenanigans I could cook up with two very different motorcycles, an unstoppable tow rig, and a solid reliable trailer. I’m not sure where this leads but I feel like it’s gonna’ be great!
It’s still winter. Nothing is set in stone. But in a fit of optimism I dug a path to the bikes (which are in cold storage behind a snowdrift). I pushed the little one into my workshop (which is also unheated) so I can start changing the oil and other needful things.
I took a photo. I call this picture “hope”:
Damn, man! You really ARE up north aint ya. I haven’t seen that kind of accumulation for a few years. And the next few days, melted away.
Ha ha ha… that ain’t nothin!
Are we neighbors dude? If I was a little more techie, I’d post my snow mountain from the snowplow. This year my wife and I are betting it will be April before it’s gone.
A little utility trailer is a lot of options. From a huge pile of spoiled hay for the gardens, to hauling a flat bottomed sharpie for boat camping. And the tax for it is nearly a joke (but don’t tell the state that).
Does this mean you are finally considering going TOTA/TAT?
Hope everything goes well!
I’m not familiar with the TOTA? What’s that?
Yes, I am considering the Trans America Trail or something similar. Note that considering doesn’t mean committed ; at least for the short term. I’d also consider doing less than the full TAT. It looks like the east has a lot of pavement and Oklahoma mud (if it rains) kicks everyone’s ass. There are no rules to an adventure so starting in New Mexico might be fine. Some other spots in the TAT didn’t float my boat. I investigated the part of the TAT that crosses South Dakota and that section seemed too tame… with a few caveats you could do it in a Volvo. I haven’t seen the MN section of the TAT but I’m guessing it’s the same as the SD section. Shame because I thought MN/SD would be further north and therefore a little cooler in a mid-summer crossing.
I also like several of the Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR). I’m not overly thrilled by technical riding but I love any very remote places with nice scenery. Wyoming’s BDR (WYBDR) seemed reasonably approachable and absolutely gorgeous. There is also the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail which looks overly tame but it has the funniest acronym (TWAT). The TWAT only takes a few days and you could probably stay at hotels. Mostly I love the idea of a T-shirt that says “I Rode The TWAT”. If nobody sells such a T-shirt that’s a market failure.
I had some ideas for long, very remote, but not technical dirt road trips in Ontario. Unfortunately, I wont cross the border until both America and Canada show signs of post-Covid governance by actual adults. Who knows when or if that’ll happen. I really miss my favorite Canadian fishing holes! I also miss thinking of Canada as a great big sane and free nation to the north; remember the old days when Canada seemed like the chill nation and America was the only side of the border that went spastic? It’s a shame because there are a few sections of totally approachable dirt road that go several hundred miles between nothing and nothing. It would be relaxing to chug along those dirt roads, camping at random Queen’s Land spots and encountering little but log trucks, mosquitoes, and moose. Also Ontario isn’t grizzly territory. Grizzlies aren’t a deal killer for me but they’re an element that adds a few PITA steps when camping.
I won’t have the time or resources for such an endeavor in the near term. If it happens it’ll be at least five years in the future. But one can always start preparing in advance right? Also, I find that when I ponder a huge adventure I’m setting up my mind properly. If you ponder massive adventures little ones just spontaneously occur. The lesser adventure is usually as good for the soul as the bigger. I hope that concept came out right.
TOTA stands for “Trail of the America”, which is TAT.
There’s a great series of videos called conquering northern china, conquering southern china where these two dudes tour that massive country on 125CC bikes.
orthern%20china
Attempted productivity:
https://www.amssolarempire.com/Blog/?p=819
Also, I may have done something actually useful with 3d printed plastic. Will see…
You might check out the youtube channels “As the Magpie Flies” (https://www.youtube.com/@AstheMagpieFlies) and “Dork in the Road” (youtube.com/@DorkintheRoad) too. They both do motocamping and adventuring on motorcycles too.
Also have you seen Ed March’s latest escapades with the mini jeep trying to make it to moab?
I’ve been cheering for Ed and his ridiculous toy jeep. Dude is nuts to drive that thing so hard! I’m endlessly entertained. I wish he’d publish his route so I could follow the same path but without the challenging toy jeep. I’m not sure how he got around the back of the salt flats but that looked cool.
I’ve watched Dork in the road. Never heard of Magpie. I’ll check it out.
An option you might want to look into – lightweight camp cots could be the half-way step between roadside heavy camping, and something you can lash to Honey Badger. It would take a bit of cash, but if you look for something wide enough, it is a lot better than sleeping in the dirt like a dog (a lot of cots are only 26″ wide or so, nowhere near big enough across the shoulders for comfort). The cot that I had 4 decades ago wasn’t lightweight, but it was a lot better than lying on the ground, even with a nice air mattress. Throw a thin insulating pad (like a cheap yoga mat) under your sleeping bag and air mattress, and you’re set for 3-season comfort.
And a folding camp chair is part of my ‘must take’ gear now, too. The one I have for motorcycle/boat camping is about the size of 2 small loaves of bread, and weighs about the same. It lets me lean back just enough to really appreciate that evening highball in front of the fire…
I’m holding off on the expense of a lightweight cot until I know I’ll use it. I figure I can buy one at the last minute. I do have a Big Agnes sleeping bag with integrated air pad…it was comfortable a decade ago. I’m not sure if I’ve gotten soft since then.
What kind of camp chair do you prefer? I’ve seen a million models and they all look the same to me. Some are pretty pricey so I want to pick a good one from the start. Obviously when I camp from my truck I don’t need a camp chair because I’ve got a big lawn chair. It’s heavy, bulky, and impractical for bikes or other use but when I’ve got a full truck long box why not use it?
Don’t have my camping gear nearby, so I can’t say exactly which brand I have – it is very like the NiceC High Back chair on Amazoon, also close to the NatureHike brand at the same mail-order. I’m sure it was made overseas, so the brand name might have changed by now, anyway.
For me, the important bits were (1) small packed size, and (2) rated for 250 – 300 lbs. I’ve broken a friend’s Trekology-style chair that are only rated for 200 lbs, and that style is too close to the ground for me, anyway. Used mine probably 40 days camping so far, absolutely no problems.
Here is to you and your madcap crazy motorcycle adventures. No moss growing on you – a man of action !!
Thanks!
It’s been a snowy winter in Minnesota and look another 6-10 inches coming tomorrow. Mud season is going to be a blast……..
Last summer my wife and I packed camping gear on our 2 Royal Enfield Himalayans. The original plan was riding the T.W.A.T. but due to health considerations changed plans and stayed on secondary roads. We used a Coleman 4 person tent purchased years ago staying at campsites along the Mississippi River on the Wisconsin side. At 69 years old my days of sleeping on the ground are well behind. I purchased 2 backpacker cots for around $60 each and a couple of inexpensive backpack chairs. Never used the chairs but the cots were super comfortable. Enjoyable trip with great views, very little traffic in early September. Load up that Shadow and go for it!
OMG! You’re the first person I’ve “met” who rode the hilariously named TWAT (or adjacent roads). And you did it with Royal Enfield Himalayans too! Huge points for style! I haven’t ridden a Himalayan but they sure check all the right boxes. Well done!
If you don’t mind me asking did you find a paper map for the TWAT? How was backroad cruising in Wisconsin? Any other advice beyond “do it”? I’m sure September foliage was gorgeous.
You’ve inspired me big time. I want that Shadow out burning pavement yesterday! I want my TW200 out spinning mud too. (Sadly I’m still buried in knee deep snow and probably so is Wisconsin, but that won’t last forever.)
Sorry to disappoint A.C. but I’ve never been able to find a paper map of the T.W.A.T. only random GPS tracks. Many of the trails are ATV routes that change due to private property permissions. That’s probably why it’s difficult to find paper maps. Some of the route requires a state sticker, some on county roads, some in the northern section are on logging trails.
September is my favorite month for motorcycle trips. The kids are in school, family vacations are over, the weather is usually cooperative, and traffic is low. Having dealt with schedules my whole life I detest having any plans set in stone. I’ve found the most interesting parts of any trip are the little things along the way. Being able to take the time to check them out enhances the experience. As a proud member of the Fugowi tribe (as in Where the F are we?) I let my trips unwind as they progress with only a start and end point in mind. If a road looks interesting that’s the direction to go.
The Himalayans have been good bikes for us. Think I put around 4000 miles on mine this past summer. Fairly comfortable even on longer trips. Made 3 trips to my cabin in northern Wisconsin with it last summer about 280 miles one way from home in S.E. Wisconsin. Around 75-80 MPG made for cheap transportation. Always run secondary roads at 45-55 MPH. The Himalayan will run 70-75 all day but this old boy would rather slow down and take in the scenery.
Feel free to ask questions anytime. Email if you don’t want it cluttering up your blog.
Al
Thanks for the info! After winter ends I might ask more questions.
Have you seen the series Himalaya Calling? Two crazy Germans going from Germany to Mumbai. It is pretty great and explains why I fly rather than ride across continents. Some of us are too old.
Haven’t heard of that. I’ll check it out.