A Giant Loop Moto Great Basin bag is my prime container of tools, parts and the little clothing I’m taking. The Great Basin bag will keep the heavy stuff forward, low and very tight against the bike with excellent weather resistance. I’m highly impressed with this luggage and was vocal that the creator make it in . . . . ORANGE (it’s the new black, you know.) A KTM tank bag will house my camera, paperwork, and small accessories. A Seattle Sports duffel that is absolutely waterproof carries my down sleeping bag (Western Mountaineering MityLite), tent (Nemo Moto 1-P), sleeping pad (Thermarest ProLite) and water bag. A Kriega US-20 bag will hold my MacBook Air inside a Crumpler sleeve. The MBA has NO moving parts so should be a bit more shock resistant but is still susceptible to water damage and therefore the Kreiga, which is waterproof with a roll enclosure.
Last summer’s shakeout ride to Alaska and the Yukon aka the “little girls ride” re-informed my ideas about having both a mosquito net with promethium and real deet (northern mosquitos are unimpressed with deet levels less than 50%, in fact, it seems the lower-48 concentrations are acknowledged as a dinner bell ! In ’93 another fool and I rode to the Arctic Circle in Canada on two street bikes . . . and were introduced to the Canadian Air Force, swarms of mosquitos so thick that a single swat could claim over 100).
In a sacrifice to comfort and acknowledgement of the paucity of tasty cuisine to be encountered, at least until Uzbekistan, a stove and cook kit will be foregone. This means either eating grocery goods or dining in when and where possible. At 210lbs/96kg there’s 10lbs/4kgs to “give” and between living in Thailand and San Francisco my palette has been ruined in a positive way. Sometimes, it’s not about the food. But it will make my bundle a bit smaller and a bit lighter.