Right about now there is a sizable number of motorcycle riding folks doing roughly the exact same thing, prepping to head out on a big early summer trip.

I am no exception.

Sometime around noonish I head out for a 9-10 day solo ride that is still very lightly planned. As the BDRs are more and more popular I’ll be avoiding those for the most part but I’ll take advantage of them when it makes sense. Otherwise it’ll most likely be the standard combo of nostalgia and new country, just not sure what versions of each…but that’s the fun part.

I wanted to upgrade the stock USB charger to a multi plug little ditty before the trip, as has been done on the last few bikes, and basically had to dismantle the whole front of the thing. But, now I know how all that fits together.

Minimalist instincts serve me well in the packing department, while I have added a few creature comforts to the quiver over the years the set up is still pretty lean. I always feel like it’s too much and my bike is Beverly Hillbillies style, but that goes away eventually.

It’s been a couple years since a long solo adventure has been done and i can feel it.

The bulk of this ride will be in the fairly deep boonies so connectivity may not be great, which is a feature of the trip, not a bug, but I’ll be posting a few times from the road as during past trips from this handy little device.

Yeah, I know the smartphone is destroying the world of people who love to stare at the fucking thing all day long and, holy Christ, won’t somebody please think of the children, but these little things are goddamn amazing.

Just don’t stare at it while you’re driving.

A lot of ground can be covered in 10 days on a bike. Hell, I made it back here from Detroit in 4 days on a tired KLR during the Big Trip. This one won’t be that kind of grind.

Washington, Oregon, Cali, Nevada, Idaho and possibly Wyoming are in the sights.

Come along on Uncle Cranky’s Get the Fuck out of Dodge and See If We Can’t Have us Some Fun Through Misery tour!