Wrong Bikes On The Way Round

The seminal episode of the Long Way Round journey was Mongolia. That is where they learned they were on the WRONG BIKES. Very educational.

I say this because most of the territory they cross in that episode of the journey is either desert, which looks just like the Mohave in California or Nevada or is like high alpine meadows as you find in Eastern California in the high country, places like Sierraville if it didn't have roads. People who live in these places are not riding 1200cc heavy motorcycle loaded down with everything and the kitchen sink. They're either on 250cc Yamaha WRX or 400cc Suzuki DRZs. The DRZ is popular for GOOD REASON. It has sufficient torque and excellent suspension to allow you to proceed across rough terrain, off road, at speed, any distance you'd care to try. Fantastic, really. That was what they SHOULD have been riding. Not those BMW pigs. Every time they fell in the mud, they were lifting up 500 pounds. If it was me? A DRZ is 300 pounds. I'd pack light and save 100 pounds, something they didn't do until Siberia in the next episode (about 2 weeks later). Motorcycle camping is all about the minimalism. When you've got 3 guys, you don't need 3 stoves or even 3 tents. A lot of the duplicated stuff can be sent home in a box by international mail. This is often the right answer. I know this because I have extensive backpacking experience. Less saves your back, saves you from exhaustion, saves you from stupidity. Don't carry two if one will do. You do have resupply options down the road. People wearing backpacks or riding bikes forget that sometimes. They really ought to focus more.

If my Diabetus ever gets cured, I've long since promised myself to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the border with Mexico all the way to Canada, Oh Canada. That's a long way but I won't be hiking it in a week. I plan to take a few months so I can enjoy it. And I will resupply at the many markets along the way. I'm not stupid, after all. I'm experienced! Focus on salty and sugary foods, light weight, dried. Carry a water filter so you don't get Cholera from the streams. Don't camp in official sites because those are where the bears go. And carry a firearm to kill the bears that can't take a hint. While a 44 Mag revolver is 5 pounds, it will put down a black bear. And parks are required by law to allow you to carry it too. One of the few legal advantages in the last 12 years of eroding civil rights. Thank you Socialists for destroying my country. I hope you die alone, abandoned in a rotting rest home, without visitors. All of you Socialists deserve to suffer for what you've done.