Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 10:22:10 -0500
Reply-To: Bill Johnson <bjohns@DTX.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Johnson <bjohns@DTX.NET>
Subject: Fw: Everything is Relative (and so are some people)
I got this off the BMW motorcycle list..
Bill
----- Original Message -----
Back in the summer of '88 we left the San Fernando Valley for a
coastal
camping trip. We worked our way up to the KOA in Bandon Beach
(our
favorite) and worked back down through the redwoods. Somewhere
in the
Redwoods in a privately owned, public campground we had just
finished
setting up camp. We are quite proud of our gear- After a couple
of years of
practice and the elimination and replacement of gear that didn't
work, for
the two of us, including the weight of the bags, we carry about
88 lbs
which includes a 12lb, 4 man 4 season tent, stove, extra fuel,
about a
week's worth of clothing each, rain gear, etc. Once parked we
can have the
tent up, gear inside and hot water ready for a cup of tea in
well under
thirty minutes.
About half an hour after we got set up a couple of Gold Wings
rolled in.
One was pulling a trailer that was absolutely filled with stuff.
I have to
guess at all the correct numbers, but he had four of five pairs
of Levis (I
carry one and usually live in my Langlitz leathers) and around
twenty
T-Shirts (I carry about six and ride in one- a long sleeve that
I soak in
the summer to keep cool). He had a metal ammo box filled with
tools even
though he once had to call a tow truck for a rear flat because
his bike
(weighed by Dunlop at Asprin-cade) was around 1100 lbs without
the trailer,
and the rear wheel was so surrounded by bumpers, trailer hitch,
bag guards,
and lights that is was unaccessible on the road without laying
the bike on
its side! We watched and talked as they set up camp. They had
three
different electric air pumps- A small high pressure one for
tires, a larger
low pressure one for the air mattress (double size and not a
Thermarest,
obviously), and the one built into the Wing for the suspension.
She was
carrying a makeup kit in a small Samsonite case, and was also
carrying a
hair dryer (the Moll was packin' heat)! I am sure my eyes were
about twice
normal size as we watched them unpack. All that gear, and they
were
sleeping in a tent much smaller than ours. My wife and I just
sort of shook
our heads in disbelief at all they were carrying, commenting to
each other
that this sort of camping was about the same as staying home and
smashing
bugs on the kitchen window while watching the travel channel.
The 'Winger
said we should get a trailer and my response was- if I wanted to
drive four
wheels I would take my car, and that I would quit motorcycling
before I
ever pulled a trailer.
We socialized for about half an hour when a motor home pulled in
next to
them. They dropped down down their steps and raised the
satellite dish and
turned on the TV. The 'Winger made the comment, "..and they
think that's
camping!"
I suppose the point with the 'Wing folk is when you have an
amount of
storage you tend to fill it. I am sure that if that trailer had
another
three cubic feet of space they would have been carrying
twenty-five pairs
of Levis and fifty T-Shirts each.
From Randy G.
'79 R100RT
The only bike I've ever owned
AMA#290154 BMWMOA#29178
|