Perhaps its a habit from my old Project Management days, but I thought it would be helpful for myself and fellow readers to review the aspects of the trip in terms of successes and opportunities for future endeavors of this type.

So here are the Lessons Learned from my 20 day trip around the western united states:

The Bike:

* The absence of two mirrors (I only have the left bar mirror) wasnt hugely impactful since I am used to it but Ive decided it would be good to have both on for future longer rides. More so for those moments in heavy traffic of course.

* The Dart fly screen doesnt really do a whole lot to block wind, really its more visually impacting than any thing else. In fact, most wind concerns came from the side rather than from the front. In addition, if you get one, and have a headlamp grill on, mount the fly screen under the grill nuts, so that the fly screen is mounted first, then the grill. Otherwise, as was in my case, the wind resistance against the fly screen at high speeds actually moves the screen towards the rider slightly, and therefore moves the headlamp up slightly as you ride. This created some problems as nightfall came in regards to visibility. I could literally see the light creeping upwards rather than staying pointed towards the road ahead. I had to adjust this frequently. Better to just set it up correctly the first time.

* I had no issues with the removal of the stock fender assembly –  and in terms of securing the pack to the bike, it was a non issue.

* The stock knobby tires made for a much bumpier ride than what I had anticipated. While you dont really feel it at the time, I know it wore on me and contributed to much of the bum soreness and length at which I could ultimately ride before taking a break. In addition, while the tires themselves may be fine for some off road activities, the stock suspension is not up to the task in my opinion (the pack being on the bike probably impacts this also) and would need to be upgraded to really make this a regularly viable option. (I attempted some offroad in Moab and did not feel confidence in the shocks – albeit this was with the pack on) Long story short – get street tires for a 4000 mile run like a sane person would going forward.

* The bike itself performed brilliantly in terms of power and handling and response. I would expect this from a bike with only 2k miles and a fresh servicing but worth noting. Also worth noting –  Nevada and Utah and parts of Wyoming have lower octane ratings for unleaded regular and if you are concerned with those differences its worth paying attention to when you fill up in these areas. I personally felt like the bike was sluggish in high gear before I switched up to higher octane in these areas.

The Gear:

* The seat pad helped – but definitely need to invest in an upgraded gel seat in the future. My bum would appreciate it.

* The fork bag I bought from Amazon left some permanent scuffs from the faux leather on the front fender and forks, which is a shame, shouldnt have gone cheap on this piece.

* The Torc bluetooth helmet was awesome! So rad to have tunes for the road from my iphone. Also very helpful to have navigation when I had to find an exact location like a friends house or reserved camping spot or motel. Worth noting though that once you get to freeway speeds its difficult to hear – its much better suited for highway and city use. Also the modular aspect was a life saver so many times in the heat – riding through Moab or even stopped in traffic.

* The Fieldsheer jacket worked excellent. Very nice to have the zip out liner – in the heat it was nice to take this out and not sweat balls and still be protected.

* My regular River Road riding gloves did well though I would mention that I got sunburned through the holes in the gloves – something I certainly did not anticipate.

* The Rhino boots looked quite fashionable and were generally shit. Though this is mostly my fault as I went cheap. Invest in high quality for your dogs! Waterproof is a must, fit and function is a must. Your feet will thank you.

* Get yourself a Crampbuster for the throttle also for these long rides – I found mine immensely valuable.

The Pack:

First things first here: Less is more!!! I really wish I would have brought less stuff.

* That being said I really wish I would have brought a small compact blanket of some kind. While I had my jacket, towel, and some clothes to bundle up with, the range of tempatures while camping varied and I did find myself getting quite cold on some nights.

* The fork bag had a variety of camping and bike tools. While I rarely used any of it, they still had to come with just in case. I did however frequently use my LED headlamp from this bag.

* The beer camp stove while fun can also be a bit of a pain in the ass – the grooves can seal to the bottom portion due to the heat – requiring tinkering with the grooves, therefore its best to continue to make new beer camp stoves – so you basically you need to drink more beer, I know, life is rough.

* The dehydrated meals worked great. Just add water! Really sick of chili now though.

* While I was glad I took workout clothes – I got a bodyweight or ab workout in most mornings, I should not have brought running shoes, it was unneccesary and took up way too much space. (replace with blanked as noted above)

* The Eureka Solitaire 1 person tent was super awesome! Easy to set up (got it down to about 3 mins setup time towards the end) and easy to tear down too. And so much room for activities inside!!! Ha! But really I fit the pack and helmet and myself in there and did not feel cramped at all.

* Again, while I did get a workout in most mornings, and the workout mat was nice for that, for sleeping it was not helpful. Make yourself the room in your pack and bring a proper sleeping pad – you need the rest.

* The GoPro original and accessories that I did use worked fine – though I learned quickly a few important lessons – 1) Clean the damn lens! Bugs everywhere! It ruins the video 😦 2) Make sure the freaking thing is on! Make sure you have room on the sd card! Make sure the battery is charged! soooo much trial and error here… to be fair I didnt have much experience with this before the ride, so I had to learn as I went.

* The handlebar mount on the gopro worked fine, and provided good video. Id love to employ more mounts including helmet and chest going forward as these would provide some welcome additional perspectives.

The Route:

The first lesson learned here might be pretty obvious:

* Give yourself plenty of time!!! I would have loved to have an additional 4 days – 1 for Big Sur, 1 for LA, 1 for Moab, and 1 for Yellowstone. Theres so much to see and do in these locations that only having one day of riding through is just not enough.

* Its a good idea to incorporate rest days into the route. A day every once in a while that you do very little riding and just recover and refresh.

* I loved the direction of the route – Loved the going south in late June, loved going down 101 and highway 1 – definitely a good idea to take back highways as much as possible versus the freeway.

* Nevada and Utah in June/July are amazingly hot – beautiful though. Would have been lovely to tackle this area at another time in the year though!

* I was mostly pleased with the mileage covered by day – there were certainly a few days which required more lengthy riding – LA to Vegas, Vegas to Moab, etc, but overall it felt achievable and I had a sense of accomplishing enough distance with also seeing and experiencing some awesome areas.

* Due to the timing of the trip I avoided rain for most of it and encountered rain only 2 of 20 days of riding which is pretty great.

* I would have loved to incorporate the Grand Canyon into the trip, as well as the four points – Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico – though this would certainly add a few days to the trip.

* Overall there is so much to see and do on this route that you could do it yearly and encounter so many new stops and experiences – so its a great one to keep coming back to.

* Ive mentioned it a few times but it bears repeating – the wind is a huge factor in the physicality of this endeavor and the effects on stamina. This is much more impactful on a cafe racer style bike – less bike and more engine. I found myself very jealous of the honda goldwings and harley street glides with all the fairings and whatnot.

Summary:

Overall I was quite happy with the route, the performance of the bike, the gear, etc. A few minor tweaks and I am sure I will get even more out of the next adventure!

Travis