Road trip prep

13 09 2009

The last few weekends have been about accessorizing my motorcycle for longer distance travel. I now have a “topbox” (trunk), a throttle lock (cheap cruise control), highway footpegs so my legs aren’t stuck in the same position all the time, a permanently mounted locking GPS holder, and I’ve put in a shelf above the dash to hold my radar detector, camera, and a cup holder.

I’ve also picked up a new netbook since the 17″ and 15.4″ MacBook Pros are kinda big for motorcycle travel, and my brother broke the screen on the old netbook. A tire repair kit and compressor. And there’s the new camera with 32GB memory card.

It has been an ordeal getting all of this stuff ordered, delivered, and installed, but now it is finally finished and I can relax for the couple of days remaining until my journey begins…


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Flip > Nano

13 09 2009

NewTeeVee has a side-by-side video comparison of new iPod Nano against an old Flip. In short, the Nano muddies the details while the Flip has quite good video quality. I don’t think this generation of the Nano poses much of a threat to Flip’s business…

But, I don’t really understand why people like Flip so much. A Canon SD780IS is about $215, shoots 720p video, has optical image stabilization, an optical viewfinder, larger LCD, takes still pictures, uses removable memory cards, and is very comparable in weight and volume to the Mino (and much smaller / lighter than the Ultra).

I’ve owned several models from the Canon SD IS and Panasonic DMC-FX lines that shot fantastic 480p video. They were so good that when my Mini DV camcorder died I felt no need to replace it. My new Panasonic DMC-ZS3 is a bit larger, and more like $325, but in exchange I get a 25-300mm equivalent lens and AVCHD 720p recording. I can’t wait to put the video to the test during my vacation!


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Great customer service from Amazon

10 09 2009

Amazon used to be famous for making it difficult to figure out how to contact a human being by telephone, and not providing a terribly great experience when you final did get connected to someone. It’s not something you could really blame them for — much of their business is low margin and call centers are expensive to run — but I’ve personally found their customer service via the web contact form to be more than satisfactory when I’ve needed it.

Times have changed. A few years ago they implemented a “Click to Call” feature on their contact form that will have customer service call you. Today I got to put it to the test: my $500+ order arrived with only $70 worth of merchandise in the box. I was missing a Panasonic DMC-ZS3 and 32GB SDHC card and I was a bit panicky as I wanted this stuff for my vacation that starts next Wednesday.

So I did the click to call. A moment later I was speaking to “John” and I explained that my package arrived a bit beat up and missing items. He promptly apologized, confirmed which items I had received, and offered to send replacement items out with next day delivery to the same address. The whole conversation lasted just a few minutes and I could not have been happier with both the experience and the result. I was especially pleased that I didn’t have to ask for anything — Amazon had empowered “John” to do the right thing, right away.

So many large companies put up obstacles to receiving great customer service — I’m looking at you, Comcast — so it’s great to see a company that has torn them down and delivered an outstanding experience.


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Iron Butt

5 09 2009

The 2009 Iron Butt Rally has concluded. The 70 motorcyclists that qualified as “Finishers” road an average of over 10,500 miles during the course of the 11-day event, more than 950 miles per day. The winner averaged a whopping 1155 miles per day!

Reading the official reports and participant ‘blogs during the 2007 IBR was what sparked my interest in long distance riding. And the notorious BMW final drive failures during the event are what finally pushed me towards buying the Yahama FJR1300.

I don’t think the IBR is an event I will ever attempt, but I look forward to vicariously participating again in 2011…


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Keeping Cool

3 09 2009

Where I live, 8 months of the year have an average high above 80F. For a fat guy like me, riding a motorcycle in full protective gear means sweating a lot. Cotton clothing has become my enemy — it’s hot, retains water, and doesn’t take long to smell foul.

Preparing for my motorcycle trip has meant finding some new clothes. First was underwear. My bike dumps a lot of heat in the groin area so even on relatively cool days the “jewels” can get pretty toasty, and as a boxer briefs guy there is nothing worse than walking around in damp underwear.

The hardcore motorcyclists universally love LD Comfort Dryline Shorts, but I’m too much of a cheap bastard to spend $45 on underwear. More searching lead me to Ex Officio Give-n-Go boxer briefs, which aren’t as optimized for motorcycling but can be found for $20-$25 each.

For shirts I picked up some WICKid Active T-shirts at about $20/each.

I gave them a test run with 200 miles of riding in > 90F weather over the weekend. When I got home, by the time I’d put away my gear and emptied my pockets the stuff was completely dry and smelled perfectly fine to wear another day.

The underwear feel pretty damned good too, I may never buy cotton shorts again.


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