You probably take too much with you.

I have lived on the road for most of my adult life and over the past few summers have moved to motorcycles as my favoured mode of transport. Why? Instant gratification. If you go into a shaded corner you feel the temperature drop instantly. When the sun comes out from behind the clouds the air embraces you like a warm hug from a friend you will remember that spot with greater detail than you think. It is this instantaneous feeling of being one with the environment that lets you fully enjoy the land you are traveling in. I said in, not through or over. On a bike you are in the land and environment of your travels. Something hard to reproduce in a climate controlled car.

With motorcycles comes a certain compromise of luxury items. Some of you softer folks may call it more of a sacrifice but I prefer the term compromise. The payoff of the instant gratification beats out an extra pair of shoes, an outfit you may or may not wear, a hairdryer (I have not owned one for almost 20 years...we have air and that does the job fine) or other items many travellers seem to think are necessary.
Using my motorcycle as my home I have pared down the essentials of life and found many of the things we think we need just become a pain in the you-know-what by bringing them along to intrude on travel pleasures. Despite the loaded up look of my ride in the pic, let me assure you I have everything I need to sustain a normal-ish life. On the bike I have several changes/options of clothing, toiletry items, my portable office (laptop, a few books and promotional sheets), riding gear, cameras, tripods, towel, swim wear, flip flops and my home.
My home?

Well a sleeping bag, mattress pad, tent, tarp and lantern qualify as more of a home than some parts of the world so, yes I have my home, my own shelter. It suits me fine for when something with running water and electricity is not available or too pricey for my budget.
Anything I cannot carry on my bike is a short ride or walk to obtain and usually becomes a mini adventure of its own. Should I find there is something I suddenly need I can zip into a town and remedy that situation often having a great conversation with one of the locals. Unless you are traveling into remote areas, don't fret the minor things.
Low on toothpaste? Zip into town.
Want some beer around the campfire but the bike is full? Set up camp then zip into town with your empty saddle bags and return, park and enjoy.
Lost a shirt or low on clothes or perhaps you failed to pack a piece of clothing needed for the area? Zip into town and if they have a second hand store you may be able to replace dirty laundry with clean clothes and donate your old ones, usually at a similar cost of trying to wash them at a laundromat.
If you are adverse to used clothes and prefer to wash your own make sure they can all be washed together. Dark colors, or ones that don't need to be done separately, is the key. I never travel with white clothes and prefer light colors (like tan) that can be washed with dark jeans and still look presentable. Avoid white unless it is a short trip and you will not do laundry until you get home...unless you like washed out, grey looking T-shirts that resemble that of a homeless person or monster truck fan.

My first big bike trip saw me shipping up to 15 pounds of gear home after just 2 days. I realized I had stuff that was not needed and was just making my bike heavy and sluggish to handle.
As long as you have at least one change of clothes and a bit of food, water plus shelter you will be fine. Trust me.
I prefer not to bring dishes and cook stove on my trips as I really hate having to do clean up after a day of riding but I do pack nonperishable snacks. Beef Jerky, trail mix, granola bars and bottled water are with me at all times. When possible some fresh fruit is a treat, if eaten soon after purchase and your body will thank you. Should you have a breakdown or delay just before a meal stop the snacks will allow you to deal with the problem without a grumbling stomach to distract you. This is great advice if you travel by car as well.
Avoid chocolate bars as they often melt and create a mess in your luggage. While on the subject of messes make sure your shampoo bottles are in ziploc style bags as they can at times pop open, especially in mountainous areas where you can go through pressure changes in elevation, and leak.

If I arrive late to set up camp and the local stores are closed, I have enough food to see me through the night.
If you travel in a group someone can unload their bike and head to town for supplies while the others set up camp for them.

The main point is you don't have to carry it all with you unless you are gong backwoods camping and sometimes trying to locate an item that you sometimes need is part of the fun of the trip.

So leave behind those 3 novels, that sweater you may or may not use, clothing items that only go with one outfit and enjoy your journey rather than the transport of unneeded items. After each trip go through you gear and eliminate everything you did not use except for emergency things like first-aid kits or repair kits (tools, tire flat kits etc). You'll find you'll bring back more memories than inventory and your trip will be more pleasurable without having to worry about all that nonessential gear.
Now start planning a trip and see the planet.
Daryl Makk

Video learning curve

After the past summer of recording from my helmet cam and an easy to use consumer grade video camera I have learned that I need to learn a lot more! You would think recording video was easy and with today's technology would be a simple point and shoot affair but it's not.

This I am learning in the recording studio with my editor Todd Buhmiller. He has a lot more experience behind the lens than I and has been patiently teaching me not only better framing of shots but the type of shots needed for a show to flow smoothly.
Besides scenic video of stunning views and activities/events there is a need for shots that identify upcoming segments, show ID, segment closing and more. If you watch TV you see these shots daily whether you know it or not as the show flows nicely from one segment to the next. That is our goal here at The Planet Tour as well. Our latest video is starting to show this  change.

This coming season we will also have a story editor to keep all video segments in a proper order to keep you, the viewer, entertained and interested in the story, something I admit was lacking in the first few videos.
Why was this lacking? I'll take part of the blame for inexperience but the main culprit was funding. Let's be realistic, these things cost money and I did not have the funds I needed last season BUT, with Todd's direction we are fixing this by back selling last year's trip with current video closer to real time to tell the tale. This will eventually meld nicely by the time I start my travels this coming riding season so the travel is as close to real time as we can get.

The goal is have each episode no more than a week behind the actual shooting of the video and you can help make this reality happen. How? Share the video links with others and encourage your friends to subscribe to the show. I have mentioned subscribing often in my videos and on this blog. Why is this important?
Well for you the viewer it means instant update on new videos as well as special offers from product sponsors, contests, product give aways plus travel, safety and maintenance tips as well as information on cool destinations we think are worthy of sharing. By we I mean me and my support team.

For us subscriptions allow us to show potential sponsors some of the exposure they will receive when they come on board. The bigger the viewing audience the more companies will want to participate which comes back to a benefit for you the viewer. Sponsors mean increased production budgets thus giving you a higher quality product to view. Its win-win and that is the way I prefer to do business.

We don't sell the email lists and use those solely for The Planet Tour purposes. You need not worry about suddenly getting spam because you are a subscriber. Believe me, there is no one who hates spam, pop up ads and all the other garbage that the internet has spawned more than myself. Spam is created by people with little vision on how to sell so they use a shot gun approach by throwing tons of crap out there hoping to land a few suckers. Not me. I prefer to give a win-win solution to my viewers. If you see a product on my show or I mention one in my newsletter it is because my research has shown it is something I can endorse and thus I wish to share it with my Planet Tour fans to help make your life and travels more enjoyable. Part of my way of saying thanks for watching.
If you have a product that you would like to showcase on The Planet Tour please email us and we will take a look at it. For our viewers keep in mind that even if a company waves a HUGE amount of money in my face that does not guarantee we will use them. If I don't think the product fits our win-win guidelines I will tell them "Thanks but no thanks" as having ads about something I don't believe in is the same as spam.
Until next time, have fun, share the road with motorcycles and get out and see the planet.
Daryl