Gearing Up for the Ride
Adventure – like commerce — is only limited by imagination … and not having the right gear.
With the limited space of our bikes, we had to make some tough choices on what to bring and what NOT to bring on our 3,000-mile journey. Here are some of the stories behind our must-have gear for this #RoadtoImagine adventure. What’s your favorite adventure gear?
Brendan’s Jacket
Motorcycle gear is very personal. Riders that care about protection quickly assemble a full wardrobe of helmets, jackets, gloves, pants, boots, and armor. My favorite piece is also my oldest: the Montana jacket from British Motorcycle Gear. It’s 1.4mm cowhide that starts out nearly black. After 6 years of weathering it shows chocolate highlights in the sun and fits like a glove.
Bret’s Bike
Bret acquired his motorcycle in a unique way. He entered a business-card giveaway at IRCE and the prize was a Vespa. The first name drawn was a fellow from France who couldn’t collect the prize because it had to be shipped within the US, so they drew a second card and it was Bret. He wasn’t keen on the Vespa, so the dealership allowed him to swap the scooter for a Yamaha FJR1300 motorcycle.
Bret describes his Yamaha as “a sport bike with saddle bags,” a motorcycle with sport-bike power that’s built for touring. It’s a 1300 cc/146 hp bike, so it has more power than a typical touring bike, which means it’s great for carving up the road. The Road to Imagine journey will take the crew on some twisty-turny climbs and that extra power will really come in handy.
Kuba’s Laptop Case
It was not an easy task to decide what piece of my adventure equipment I like most. There are so many that are important and come with me to most of my adventures. The one I chose is not that obvious – it’s a laptop case. It’s not just a regular laptop case, it’s a bump proof and fully waterproof case made by Pelican that gives me freedom to travel & work at the same time, anywhere. As a company executive, without the ability to work remotely I couldn’t even think about many of my travel ideas. The Pelican case allows me to be myself; hard working while being adventurous.
Steve’s Headset
One of the most important pieces of gear that we all have is our headsets. These are basically in-helmet intercoms that allow us to communicate amongst each other while riding. We all use a headset made by a company called Sena. This is extremely useful for navigation, coordinating stops, or mentioning oncoming cars, animals or obstacles on the road. But most importantly, the intercoms allow us to enjoy the trip together. We can all talk about how we’re enjoying the sights and the roads, and share the experience.
