Una Moto en Argentina!!!!!!!

A few people have asked me what I am bringing with me on this moto adventure so I thought I’d do up a quick post on it. I’m at ATGATT kind of moto rider (All The Gear All The Time) and I’m bringing all my own stuff, excluding the motorcycle, to Argentina. I’m used to all my travel gear fitting in one backpack, but now I don’t even USE a backpack. The pile of things I need to take with me makes me wince because just a few years ago I survived on less than 25 lbs worth of stuff for a YEAR. Now, my clothing along weighs that.

There are the essentials- helmet, gloves, armored pants and jacket, etc. This year I revamped my gear collection and I now look like The Red Baron(ess). Even my Ortileb dry bag is bright red. All I need is a cape….

To keep myself safe, I have an awesome Shoei helmet, well broken in Joe Rocket gloves, a brand new armored Alpinestars jacket that fits correctly (as opposed to my last one), BMW Airflow pants which have state of the art moldable armor, and 20 hole Doc Martens boots for my tootsies. I’m hoping it doesn’t rain either, but I’ll be prepared if it does.

But then there is all the camping gear and the random stuff that goes along with riding. I have a 2 person Sierra Nevada tent (1 person + gear in my case) and I think it was one of the most intelligent impulse buys I have ever made. It can be pitched in literally 60 seconds flat. It takes me far longer to stuff my sleeping bag back into its sack than it does to put up my tent. I have a silk sleep sheet I stole from an ex-boyfriend, my yoga mat which doubles as a sleep mat, a FAB EMS Claudia-sized sleeping bag, a high end knife that scares everyone who sees it, books, a compass, maps, my snazzy digital SLR with accompanying tri-pod. The tri-pod wasn’t on the original packing list, but after my friend who has ridden in Argentina mentioned it can be hard to find people to take a pic of you in the more remote areas (I’m thinking Saltas Grandes here), I put it in my bag.

Then there is the question of clothing. For me, this is the toughest part. I hate looking like a “traveler”. Synthetic travel pants? HATE THEM, no matter how practical they might be in theory. I wore them for a year in Asia and will never do it again. So instead I’ve been watching the weather trends and I’m going to roll the dice on bringing jeans. It will be hot, but at least I won’t look like a scrubby traveler. When I’m on the bike, I’m in gear, and when I’m not, I look cute. Done deal.

Then there are the practical items like duct tape, a multi-tool, a small bit of rope (this has come in handy more times than I can remember), bungie cords that tie stuff down to the bike, extra water proof bags, etc. I learned a lot from my trip to Nova Scotia about what will and won’t come in handy.

Tomorrow night I do my final pack. My little apartment might explode during the process but at least it will be over and done with until my lucky pack mule (read as boyfriend) gets to help me lug it to the airport.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking more about my upcoming adventure to Argentina. Last summer I did a 3135 mile trip up to Nova Scotia by myself on my trusty ’02 BMW 650GS, or “Beemie” as I affectionately call her.

I encountered some absolutely insane weather that made me think “what on EARTH am I doing here” such as hail and 20ft visibility fog…

There were definitely a few roads that were a bit over my helmet. But that trip, along with some minor technical difficulties, showed me I had the chops to do something a little more adventurous. I gained some motorcycle mojo. This year I decided to follow in the footsteps of my moto mentor and head to Argentina.

So why Argentina? First off, it’s the easiest place in South America for me to acquire a bike for a few weeks without having to go through the effort of buying one, renting from someone shady, or importing my own. Secondly, I’ve got good advice from people who have been and said it’s fantastic. It seems everyone in Argentina who rides knows everyone else who rides, so it’s a small sort of community. At least if I get stuck somewhere, chances are there will be someone who knows someone in the area.

Being it’s winter here in New York, I’ve been in riding withdrawal. My apartment is small, so everywhere I look there are pieces of gear. A helmet beside my chair, two armored jackets and armored pants in the closet next to my other clothes, a trunk chock full of tank bags, gloves, rain gear, boots, spare lights, tire gauges, etc. Not to mention my camping gear, books, maps, and notes. It’s torture especially on days like today when the sky is clear, the air is crisp, and I want to be anywhere but trapped inside.

I’m in that “anticipation” stage. There is nothing really for me to do. The flight was booked ages ago, along with the motorcycle. I do have a bit of worry about the height of the bike because I’m a shorty and the bike is bigger than I’m used to. I had two options on what sort of bike to get. I could rent the same bike I own and KNOW it’s going to fit right and all that. Or I could try something different, which is what I did. I chose the Honda Transalp. It’s a twin cylinder bike instead of a single, so I expect a smoother ride. It’s also a bike I wouldn’t get to try out here at home because Honda doesn’t sell them here.

In order to get pumped up about adventure moto travel, I watched The Long Way Down with my fav moto boys, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Ok, maybe their second trip wasn’t nearly as hardcore as their first adventure but ahh well. I’m a little partial to the first trip because I missed them in the Gobi Desert by a freakin’ DAY. If only I could have expressed to my drunk Mongolian truck driver to “follow the big motorcycles as fast as you can!” I’d have been in heaven. Can you imagine? “Why hello Ewan and Charley! I’m just going to hide in your Touratech panniers here, don’t mind me!!!” Ok, maybe not.

So, with much anticipation, I wait and plot.