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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


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