Weekly Travel Hack: Motorcycle Edition
0 comments // Written by Stephen on October 03 2013 in Motorcycling, Tips & Travel Hacks
After 5,000 miles of motorcycle trips through Canada and the US this summer I felt it only appropriate to share my first round of Motorcycle Travel Hacks.
Being an experienced rider with years of road time all over the world under my belt I can honestly say this summer I spent more time riding in the rain than ever before. With that in mind dealing with the rain, if not properly prepared, as I wasn’t a few times, can be a hassle. But fear not; let these Motorcycle hacks prepare you for the inevitable wetness of a rainstorm.
Dish Glove-Leather Glove Hack
I thought I was ready for the rain, I had my rain pants and raincoat primed and in tow. But it was the small things I forgot this summer, like my gloves. Riding around Lake Superior in the rain in 47 F weather my leather gloves soaked quickly and my hands froze in seconds. I simply needed a waterproof layer to keep my hands from the cold water of my gloves, a temporary fix.
That is when I had an epiphany and pulled over at a little grocery and picked up some waterproof dish gloves. They easily slid under my leather gloves and since they were long enough to almost go up to my elbows they kept my hands, wrists, and lower arms nice and dry. It was a simple fix that kept the cold out of my hands for a bit longer.
Magnetic Freezer Bag Map Hack
I like to have my directions and maps in paper form, but in a rain storm on a motorcycle anything printed on paper deteriorates pretty damn quick. I thought of a simple fix for the problem. By slipping my printed directions into a Ziploc Freezer Bag I kept them waterproof and readable. Then putting a few industrial strength magnets in the bag and positioning it under my leather gas tank divider it was securely held down in the wind. Not only that, it made my map and directions easy to get to, so I didn’t have to unpack them from my bike luggage every time I wanted to read them.
Trash Bag Saddle Bag Combo Hack
One of the things about riding in the rain is it can find its way into the smallest cracks of your luggage. For instance my saddlebags earlier in the summer didn’t hold up and my clothes got drenched which was no fun. The most effective and ridiculously easy solution to this problem was to simply pack my clothes into a plastic trash bag inside of my saddlebags. This five-second fix kept my clothes dry as a bone.
Hope you enjoyed this weeks Travel Hacks! Until next time, may your riding be dry, your bike be fast, and your roads be long and lonely.
Next entry: Travel Advice: Leave Your Ego at Home and Remember You’re Mortal.
Previous entry: Weird World Food Wednesday: Eating Bamboo Worms in Luang Prabang, Laos