No Shoelaces

Planning for a long bike ride over the long weekend.

Unlike Vaish, I hate making lists.

Totally listless, I go back to my general purpose guide.

Below is THE list.

Add good bike and good company and that’s all you need to live….on the road.

 

“What I have here is my list of valuable things to take on your next motorcycle trip across the Dakotas…

 Most of the items are commonplace and need no comment. Some of them are peculiar to motorcycling and need some comment. Some of them are just plain peculiar and need a lot of comment. The list is divided into four parts: Clothing, Personal Stuff, Cooking and Camping Gear, and Motorcycle Stuff.

 

The first part, Clothing, is simple:

1. Two changes of underwear.

2. Long underwear.

3. One change of shirt and pants for each of us. I use Army-surplus fatigues. They're cheap, tough and don't show dirt. I had an item called ``dress clothes'' at first but John penciled ``Tux'' after this item. I was just thinking of something you might want to wear outside a filling station.

4. One sweater and jacket each.

5. Gloves. Unlined leather gloves are best because they prevent sunburn, absorb sweat and keep your hands cool. When you're going for an hour or two little things like this aren't important, but when you're going all day long day after day they become plenty important.

6. Cycle boots.

7. Rain gear.

8. Helmet and sunshade.

9. Bubble. This gives me claustrophobia, so I use it only in the rain, which otherwise at high speed stings your face like needles.

10. Goggles. I don't like windshields because they also close you in. These are some British laminated plate-glass goggles that work fine. The wind gets behind sunglasses. Plastic goggles get scratched up and distort vision.

 

The next list is Personal Stuff:

Combs. Billfold. Pocketknife. Memoranda booklet. Pen. Cigarettes and matches. Flashlight. Soap and plastic soap container. Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Scissors. APCs for headaches. Insect repellent. Deodorant (after a hot day on a cycle, your best friends don't need to tell you). Sunburn lotion. (On a cycle you don't notice sunburn until you stop, and then it's too late. Put it on early.) Band-Aids. Toilet paper. Washcloth (this can go into a plastic box to keep other stuff from getting damp). Towel.

 

Books. I don't know of any other cyclist who takes books with him. They take a lot of space, but I have three of them here anyway, with some loose sheets of paper in them for writing. These are:

1. The shop manual for this cycle.

2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton's Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck.

3. A copy of Thoreau's Walden -- which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way.

They must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and discovered we have only covered two

or three pages. It's a form of reading done a century ago – when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you've tried it you can't imagine how pleasant it is to do it this way.

I see Chris is sleeping over there completely relaxed, none of his normal tension. I guess I won't wake him up yet.

Camping Equipment includes:

1. Two sleeping bags.

2. Two ponchos and one ground cloth. These convert into a tent and also protect the luggage from rain while you are traveling.

3. Rope.

4. U. S. Geodetic Survey maps of an area where we hope to do some hiking.

5. Machete.

6. Compass.

7. Canteen. I couldn't find this anywhere when we left. I think the kids must have lost it somewhere.

8. Two Army-surplus mess kits with knife, fork and spoon.

9. A collapsible Sterno stove with one medium-sized can of Sterno. This is an experimental purchase. I haven't used it yet. When it rains or when you're above the timberline firewood is a problem.

10. Some aluminum screw-top tins. For lard, salt, butter, flour, sugar. A mountaineering supply house sold us these years ago.

11. Brillo, for cleaning.

12. Two aluminum-frame backpacks.

 

Motorcycle Stuff.

A standard tool kit comes with the cycle and is stored under the seat.

This is supplemented with the following:

A large, adjustable open-end wrench. A machinist's hammer. A cold chisel. A taper punch. A pair of tire irons. A tire-patching kit. A bicycle pump. A can of molybdenum disulfide spray for the chain. (This has tremendous penetrating ability into the inside of each roller where it really counts, and the lubricating superiority of molybdenum disulfide is well known. Once it has dried off, however, it ought to be supplemented with good old SAE-30 engine oil.) Impact driver. A point file. Feeler gauge. Test lamp.

Spare parts include: Plugs. Throttle, clutch and brake cables. Points, fuses, headlight and taillight bulbs, chain-coupling link with keeper, cotter pins, baling wire. Spare chain (this is just an old one that was about shot when I replaced it, enough to get to a cycle shop if the present one goes).

And that's about it.

No shoelaces.”

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

An Inquiry into Values

Robert M. Pirsig

 

Makes sense even if you don’t care a dime about Motorcycles.