And now, for the gear!

What the Fashionable Motorcycle Enthusiast Will Be Wearing this Season...

Selling off Barney's parts and pieces has allowed me to upgrade some gear and equipment for this year's trip. So, with no further ado, I'll let you know how I'll be travelling to the Great Smokey Mountains...and what the fashionable Motorcycle Enthusiast will be wearing this season....

Jacket: Tourmaster Transition II Hi-Viz

I've already ridden a couple of weeks with this jacket and so far, I'm extremely pleased with the fit, and comfort that this jacket has. Its much more comfortable and less fatiguing than the Joe Rocket Ballistic 6.0 that I have been wearing.

This year, I will wear my Joe Rocket Mesh riding pants and H. H. Brown Canadian Military Issue Combat Boots. I've been really wondering if the Combats are the way to go, but I figure if we're hitting the rain a lot, I'll appreciate the Gor-Tex Lining and 12" Height. Plus, on top of it all, I just can't get past the Peter Pan Get-Away factor of actual motocycle touring boots.

The helmet of the year will be my HJC CS-15 Echo. I won this helmet a couple of year ago at the ALDERS Rally and have just started making use of it this year, and so far I'm enjoying the relative quite of this full face lid.

On our previous trips, Larry and I have found that the lack of communications have been a big problem. This year, we'll be sporting Motocomm's MC5 Helmet Headsets attached to Motorola GMRS Radios and MP3 Player Inputs. While the Motorola's package say 43 Km, I'm sure that they don't really reach that far. However, they will keep us in touch for those time when one of us either gets lost, needs to pee, or wants to stop and take a picture.

I'll also be packing in a Moto-Pak 27L tank bag that I've had for the past few year, a 50L Dry Bag for my sleeping gear and tent and a Nelson Rigg Day Runner Tail Pack for my clothes.

Departure is rapidly approaching and I'm starting to get a litle excited....