Mel & Trinity

It is starting to feel like crunch time. In 5 weeks time I will be in Seattle and getting ready to pick up Trinity.

This week has been very much focused on getting my insurance sorted out, and giving thought to the gear I will have with me on the trip.

On the insurance front the following happened this week:

• Finalised my travel insurance (I ended up going with Holiday Safe who are my current travel insurance provider as they would cover my dodgy hip and accessories which my other quote would’t cover).
• Paid and sent off all my paperwork for my Temporary Motorcycle Insurance. The only real choices seem to be Fernet and Motorcycle Express. I have gone with the latter as their cover is more comprehensive.

On a gear front, I have had to give thought to what I really need on the road; do I have space for everything; how am I going to keep it safe and dry; and finally does it work for me. As I haven’t actually camped yet I am heading to Dartmoor National Park today for an overnight stay. It is a 400 mile round trip so will definitely test my readiness for long rides and of course I will get to test out all the camping gear that my friend Grant picked up for me in REI while he was in the US on holiday.

I also picked up the following this week:

• 109L Ortlieb dry bag. My rucksack and tent fit nicely into it and will be completely waterproof in the event I hit any rain showers on the road.
• Abus Granit disk lock (this is much smaller than the huge chain I currently have).
• Oxford bike cover (a compact waterproof version of the one I currently have which is too big to travel with me).
• Oxford analog tyre pressure gauge.
• Kriega US30 dry bag. The intension was that this was used as my tank bag but it may actually be too big for this. I will test it out today and see if it works.

Finally, I think Migi and I have finalised my ‘business card’. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see them when they come back from the printer! The best thing is that the company we are using to do the printing, it’s called moo, also has stores in the U.S. so I could pick more up on the road if I need to. Amazing!