So I spent a lot of Saturday getting ready ... first, I got a new Rallye suit, so I really psyched. Found a friend looking for a less expensive suit, so I sold him my old one, and some other gear, to finance the new one. This one is grey/blue, instead of black/yellow, so it will match Sally better for sure.

Which brings me to sally. She's almost loaded. Both of the Wolfman side bags are installed on each side of the topcase. I sure hope that the mounts for Vario cases can take the additional load.

Also, one of the big challenges I had in preparation is finally solved. I have two one-liter gas cans (which may not sound like a lot, but it will get me 20 miles, which is a long way to push if you don't have gas). So I was trying to figure out a good way to travel with the cans. Obviously, I don't want them in a panier or case on the off chance that they leak, so what to do?

I found some outer canisters that they fit on, and attached them to a ratchet strap with some aluminum and parachute cord -- and viola, they stay. If you look "under" the starboard panier in the picture above, you can see the outer canister.

Here are some details on the mount:

First, a good picture of my first attempt, laying on the floor.

Then, of course, an "as installed shot:

You may notice that the ratchet strap is partially orange in this second shot -- the loop ratchets I bought were really poor quality, so I swapped them out for others I had around that seemed heavier duty -- a little knot-work that my father would have been proud of, and viola, it works. Here are some shots so you can see the cap of the outer canister off, and you can see the fuel cell.

 

I am also very proud of my "Velcro shelf." The starboard Vario panier has a weird shape to avoid the right-mounted exhaust pipe. Because of gravity, you can't really just push stuff up there or the case won't close. And we use a case liner which fails to make any use of the odd space. Enter the Velcro shelf. The otherwise unused space now houses a tire patch kit, an electric tire pump, several chemical flares and a small tool kit. I am psyched. The balance of the starboard panier will house our rain gear as well as cold weather gloves and other warmth-related items.

Finally, I got Butler maps for the Rockies, and put them in the tank bag. You can see Colorado showing -- the ride from Boulder to Steamboat (via Estes Park) is visible. I also have the console trip ready. The BMW Navigator V is a great (larger screen) GPS that recently replaced the Navigator IV. I added orange duct tape to the speedo -- arrows  at 40 and 60 and a line at 80. Makes it a lot easier to read BMW's otherwise poorly designed and hard to read speedo. You can also see the radar detector and phone mounts, and the Spot (satellite transponder.)

Coming down the home stretch -- and all of the logistics look good. I even put 10 GB of music on the Navigator V in case I am out of Pandora range.

Can't wait ...