Travel Notes
We normally travel by bike only, carrying the bare minimum required for on-the-road living entirely in our panniers and dry bags. We have trailered our sportbikes and dirtbikes to the track and trails before, and we've done a week-long trip down to Deals Gap with the trailer, but this is our first "glamping" trip with the enduros in the bed of the truck. Overall, we came pretty well prepared, we just need a bit more experience organizing everything in our tiny crew cab compartment. We found ourselves constantly tearing through all the dry bags in the back seat trying to find equipment or gear.
Even though we have more carrying capacity now with the truck, we've managed to chew up quite a lot of that space with the purchase of a full-size mattress. We've upgraded from the super-uncomfortable, but compact, Therm-a-Rest sleeping pads, to the super-luxurious Exped MegaMat Duo. When it's rolled up, it takes up a 1/4 of the space of the rear cabin of the truck, but when expanded in the tent, this sleeping pad is 10cm thick and is *more* comfortable than our mattress at home.
We've never ever looked forward to climbing into our sleeping bags at night, just due to how uncomfortable those 1" thick Therm-a-Rest pads are. But now, after a long day's ride on the trail, sleeping on the ground (or at least 4" off the ground) is as comfortable as sleeping at home. It's totally possible to sleep on your side or front with this mattress, something that isn't possible with thinner and smaller sleeping pads. This mattress is quite a game changer!
Ahhh, the benefits of glamping!
Range anxiety was a quite an issue on this trip. We've resisted putting large fuel tanks on our bikes because we enjoy how lightweight they are when we take them trail-riding in our back yard. We tried to think ahead and brought jerry cans with us, but we greatly underestimated the distances we'd have to travel because of how large the park is. We ended up having to make a mid-trip excursion to Beatty to re-fill our jerry cans because of how much fuel we were going through.
When we were talking to Wes and the Utah guys at the Racetrack Playa, we noticed most of them were running larger aftermarket tanks. IMS makes a 4.25 gallon (19.3 L) tank for our bikes, which would effectively double our range, but at the expense of increased weight. I think now that the borders are starting to open up and we're beginning to do more long-distance trips, we need to get serious about properly "Adventurizing" these enduros with fuel capacity and luggage.
We also need to remember to bring with us a bottle of octane booster as well. There are only three fuel stations inside DV: Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek and Panamint Springs. Only FC has high-test, and it was 45 minutes away from our campsite. In the future, we need to be prepared if 85 octane is all that's available.
Speaking of luggage, on this trip, we were going to test out a couple of soft-bag set ups. We had bought a Mosko Moto Reckless 40L v3.0 as well as a Tusk Excursion rackless system. Unfortunately, there was a manufacturing defect with the Tusk unit, so we were only able to run with the Mosko Moto on my bike.
The system is well-thought out. I was using it mainly to carry extra fuel for the both of us in 4x1L MSR fuel bottles, as well as 4L of water in a collapsible plastic bladder. I was also carrying all the cold-weather clothes, tools and spares, as well as emergency supplies (blanket, first aid, rations, etc). With all that packed, I still had quite a lot of room to spare in that 40L capacity!
On the trails, the bags never moved at all. I never felt them while riding, except for my backpack resting on the rear bag when I was sitting down, but that's actually a bonus because it takes the weight off my shoulders.
Some other gear we were trying out: Garmin inReach Mini for emergency SOS. We never triggered the SOS, but the tracking worked pretty well, our emergency contacts at home could see where we were at all times. In retrospect, it was overkill for a US National Park. So many people wandering around the trails in jeeps, dune buggies and bikes, we were never in any danger of being out of contact with civilization. The inReach would be more useful around our neck of the woods in the BC Interior, which is less travelled and more remote than Death Valley.
Another piece of new gear I was trying out were my Forma Adventure boots. Love them! They were comfortable right off the bat, no break-in period required. My old pair were a MX boot with a steel shank in the sole. It was super-stiff and offered no brake pedal feel. The Formas offered less protection, but more feel and the kind of riding we were doing were more suited to the Adventure boot as opposed to an over-armored MX boot.
We ate relatively poorly on this trip. Although we brought our full setup with the camping stove, plates and utensils, we only brought cans into the park and ate chili, soups and par-boiled rice the entire week, heating them up with the stove. We were just lazy and wanted to spend more time riding and less time cooking. It didn't help that the sun set so early, so we almost always cooked and ate in the dark. I think if we had more time, we'd eat healthier by making our food from scratch.
Death Valley experiences some pretty strong desert storms. Our tent was ill-prepared for that. The strong winds blew fine sand up underneath the fly and through the mesh screen. One morning, we woke up buried in sand. I think the next time we camp in the desert, we'll cover either the entire tent or the the inside with some kind of tarp that we can shake out when the storms hit.
We used to have a double-lined tent with no mesh, and that would have been a perfect tent for keeping out the sand. But then you run into heat management and condensation issues because of the lack of air flow. Can't have everything.
I think I've found a new passion: dune riding!
Not many places where we can practice this where we live, but the next time we come down to the dunes, I want to be prepared. So we need paddle tires for traction and a whip flag for visibility. I might just bring an extra pair of rear rims already mounted with the paddle tires, for a quick switchover. Having an extra rim would also allow me to run a bigger rear sprocket for more power in the dunes. Also need a sand sock for our air filters as well.
Our border crossing into the US was quick and uncomplicated. The customs officer asked we were double-vaxxed and whether we owned the bikes in the back of the truck. No documentation or proof required, just a verbal check.
Our crossing back into Canada was a lot more rigorous. We booked a PCR test in Seattle the day of our crossing. Cost $206 USD each and it took 30 minutes for the results to come back. Seattle was kind of out of the way, but we were lazy and we knew this clinic would be open and fast. Smaller clinics might not have the same responsiveness. Next time, we could probably find something closer and cheaper to the border crossing near our house.
Hopefully the border crossings get a bit more relaxed in the future.
We normally travel by bike only, carrying the bare minimum required for on-the-road living entirely in our panniers and dry bags. We have trailered our sportbikes and dirtbikes to the track and trails before, and we've done a week-long trip down to Deals Gap with the trailer, but this is our first "glamping" trip with the enduros in the bed of the truck. Overall, we came pretty well prepared, we just need a bit more experience organizing everything in our tiny crew cab compartment. We found ourselves constantly tearing through all the dry bags in the back seat trying to find equipment or gear.
Even though we have more carrying capacity now with the truck, we've managed to chew up quite a lot of that space with the purchase of a full-size mattress. We've upgraded from the super-uncomfortable, but compact, Therm-a-Rest sleeping pads, to the super-luxurious Exped MegaMat Duo. When it's rolled up, it takes up a 1/4 of the space of the rear cabin of the truck, but when expanded in the tent, this sleeping pad is 10cm thick and is *more* comfortable than our mattress at home.
We've never ever looked forward to climbing into our sleeping bags at night, just due to how uncomfortable those 1" thick Therm-a-Rest pads are. But now, after a long day's ride on the trail, sleeping on the ground (or at least 4" off the ground) is as comfortable as sleeping at home. It's totally possible to sleep on your side or front with this mattress, something that isn't possible with thinner and smaller sleeping pads. This mattress is quite a game changer!
Ahhh, the benefits of glamping!
Range anxiety was a quite an issue on this trip. We've resisted putting large fuel tanks on our bikes because we enjoy how lightweight they are when we take them trail-riding in our back yard. We tried to think ahead and brought jerry cans with us, but we greatly underestimated the distances we'd have to travel because of how large the park is. We ended up having to make a mid-trip excursion to Beatty to re-fill our jerry cans because of how much fuel we were going through.
When we were talking to Wes and the Utah guys at the Racetrack Playa, we noticed most of them were running larger aftermarket tanks. IMS makes a 4.25 gallon (19.3 L) tank for our bikes, which would effectively double our range, but at the expense of increased weight. I think now that the borders are starting to open up and we're beginning to do more long-distance trips, we need to get serious about properly "Adventurizing" these enduros with fuel capacity and luggage.
We also need to remember to bring with us a bottle of octane booster as well. There are only three fuel stations inside DV: Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek and Panamint Springs. Only FC has high-test, and it was 45 minutes away from our campsite. In the future, we need to be prepared if 85 octane is all that's available.
Speaking of luggage, on this trip, we were going to test out a couple of soft-bag set ups. We had bought a Mosko Moto Reckless 40L v3.0 as well as a Tusk Excursion rackless system. Unfortunately, there was a manufacturing defect with the Tusk unit, so we were only able to run with the Mosko Moto on my bike.
The system is well-thought out. I was using it mainly to carry extra fuel for the both of us in 4x1L MSR fuel bottles, as well as 4L of water in a collapsible plastic bladder. I was also carrying all the cold-weather clothes, tools and spares, as well as emergency supplies (blanket, first aid, rations, etc). With all that packed, I still had quite a lot of room to spare in that 40L capacity!
On the trails, the bags never moved at all. I never felt them while riding, except for my backpack resting on the rear bag when I was sitting down, but that's actually a bonus because it takes the weight off my shoulders.
Some other gear we were trying out: Garmin inReach Mini for emergency SOS. We never triggered the SOS, but the tracking worked pretty well, our emergency contacts at home could see where we were at all times. In retrospect, it was overkill for a US National Park. So many people wandering around the trails in jeeps, dune buggies and bikes, we were never in any danger of being out of contact with civilization. The inReach would be more useful around our neck of the woods in the BC Interior, which is less travelled and more remote than Death Valley.
Another piece of new gear I was trying out were my Forma Adventure boots. Love them! They were comfortable right off the bat, no break-in period required. My old pair were a MX boot with a steel shank in the sole. It was super-stiff and offered no brake pedal feel. The Formas offered less protection, but more feel and the kind of riding we were doing were more suited to the Adventure boot as opposed to an over-armored MX boot.
We ate relatively poorly on this trip. Although we brought our full setup with the camping stove, plates and utensils, we only brought cans into the park and ate chili, soups and par-boiled rice the entire week, heating them up with the stove. We were just lazy and wanted to spend more time riding and less time cooking. It didn't help that the sun set so early, so we almost always cooked and ate in the dark. I think if we had more time, we'd eat healthier by making our food from scratch.
Death Valley experiences some pretty strong desert storms. Our tent was ill-prepared for that. The strong winds blew fine sand up underneath the fly and through the mesh screen. One morning, we woke up buried in sand. I think the next time we camp in the desert, we'll cover either the entire tent or the the inside with some kind of tarp that we can shake out when the storms hit.
We used to have a double-lined tent with no mesh, and that would have been a perfect tent for keeping out the sand. But then you run into heat management and condensation issues because of the lack of air flow. Can't have everything.
I think I've found a new passion: dune riding!
Not many places where we can practice this where we live, but the next time we come down to the dunes, I want to be prepared. So we need paddle tires for traction and a whip flag for visibility. I might just bring an extra pair of rear rims already mounted with the paddle tires, for a quick switchover. Having an extra rim would also allow me to run a bigger rear sprocket for more power in the dunes. Also need a sand sock for our air filters as well.
Our border crossing into the US was quick and uncomplicated. The customs officer asked we were double-vaxxed and whether we owned the bikes in the back of the truck. No documentation or proof required, just a verbal check.
Our crossing back into Canada was a lot more rigorous. We booked a PCR test in Seattle the day of our crossing. Cost $206 USD each and it took 30 minutes for the results to come back. Seattle was kind of out of the way, but we were lazy and we knew this clinic would be open and fast. Smaller clinics might not have the same responsiveness. Next time, we could probably find something closer and cheaper to the border crossing near our house.
Hopefully the border crossings get a bit more relaxed in the future.
Last edited:
