It's All About the Bike » nathan rafferty http://itsallaboutthebike.com a blog about motorbikes, bicycles, and the folks who ride them. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:45:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 July Wyoming Moto Weekend http://itsallaboutthebike.com/july-wyoming-moto-weekend/ http://itsallaboutthebike.com/july-wyoming-moto-weekend/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:20:21 +0000 moto http://itsallaboutthebike.com/?p=204 A wet June kept many plans at bay for a proper summer moto trip, but our crew finally got one together in mid-July, starting from Park City, Utah, and venturing up into Wyoming and Idaho. I’m always a little scrambled when we do these trips, trying to get the gear ready for the agreed upon roll-out time. Darth always seems to have his stuff ready to go. This time was no different. With a rather new BMW F800 GS under me which was fresh off its 600 mile break-in service (had it done the morning of departure), my plan was to strap all my gear on the back of the bike in a dry bag. Get home from work, throw the gear in the bag, and strap it on the back. Which normally works fine, but isn’t nearly as convenient as packing all your stuff the night before in boxes. On our first dirt road out of Coalville, Utah, at the top of Chalk Creek Canyon, one of the straps let loose, and I had to stop and redo the whole thing. Would have been easier to take my time and do it right the first time, and would have been a lot easier to throw all my gear the night before into side-mounted boxes. Oh well. The debate will continue over costs vs. convenience, adding weight to the bike vs. keeping it as light and nimble as possible. You get clarity on these issues after a weekend away from civilization. I’ll probably get some boxes. Check out some of the photos below. More can be found on our Flickr page, as well as Darth’s Shutterfly. We welcomed two new members to the crew on this trip, and nearly had a third who was ready to go Thursday night before departure, but canceled early Friday morning. Maybe the photos below will give you guys a taste of why you need to make it on the next one!

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]]> http://itsallaboutthebike.com/july-wyoming-moto-weekend/feed/ 6 Mongolian Sand Dunes http://itsallaboutthebike.com/mongolian-sand-dunes/ http://itsallaboutthebike.com/mongolian-sand-dunes/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:06:16 +0000 Darth Nater http://itsallaboutthebike.com/?p=184 Here is a quick video update from Nato and Ben in Mongolia. Can’t wait for the boys to return and share their photos and videos of this epic moto adventure:

]]> http://itsallaboutthebike.com/mongolian-sand-dunes/feed/ 0 SMS Update From Mongolia http://itsallaboutthebike.com/sms-update-from-mongolia/ http://itsallaboutthebike.com/sms-update-from-mongolia/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:25:45 +0000 Darth Nater http://itsallaboutthebike.com/?p=182 Yesterday’s update from Mongolia from Nato and Ben:

“…Day 2 in Mongolia a success. Riding across grassy plains is totally weird but very cool. Saw a large temple complex and also rode to the top of a mountain where we saw trees for the first time since we have been here. Riding sand dunes and camels on the agenda today!”

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