Late Arrival. Another Day.

I decide that with such a late arrival last night that I really want to
spend time with Ken and Robin before heading north. Ken and I do a bunch
of errands and he helps me figure a better packing strategy. I felt that
the bike was a little “back heavy” on the trip up. I need to shift more
weight to the front of the bike. We weigh everything I’m carrying. It’s
200 lbs even. And at 155 lbs that means passenger and gear are 355 lbs.
I thought I’d carry about 150 lbs of gear. Looks like I’m a bit
overweight! To be sure, there are many items that were thrown into bags
on the bike that would be trimmed by the time I arrived in Garberville
where my good friend Johnny A is waiting for me with a few DHL packages
I shipped ahead.

July 8, 2005

I’ve arrived in Garberville. Johnny A lives down a dirt road and as I
navigate the rocks and ruts in his steep driveway I feel the front tire
go a bit squirrelly. I flash back to the desert training I did with
Jimmy Lewis out near Las Vegas. Riding in the sand always tenses me up
as the front wheel moves and jumps as if it has a mind of its own. Key
to handling the motorcycle in these situations is to simply maintain
speed and loosen up on the handlebars. As I descend down John’s driveway
I tighten up and imagine dumping the bike on the first dirt of the trip.
Then I remind myself that less than 10% of the roads in Bolivia are
paved. Get used to it Allan.

But for me, it’s the weight of the bike that has my confidence waning a
bit as I safely pull into Johnny A’s place. I realize I have to trip the
50lbs and tweak packing even more.