New gear ride

[Paulie86]

Im planning a trip out west next year and have been starting to acquire gear for my upcoming adventure. I've been riding for a number of years but never far enough that I needed to pack anything. So, with the help of my more experienced friends and this forum i've begun to pick up a few things. One of the most exciting came today when my cortech saddle bags arrived in the mail. I eagerly mounted them on the bike, packed a little gear and took off on a short 75 miles run.



After getting the bags mounted I decided that everything was sitting well enough that I should go out for a quick test run!



I'm fortunate that I live just on the edge of the county line and it goes from suburban housing to country back roads in about 2 miles. With the weather still hovering in the mid 70's and the excitement of my approaching trip I figured I'd press on and get a few miles under my belt.



Just before highway 50 in Raleigh there's a farm some friends of mine used to own. I decided to stop and take a quick look from the road.



One of several abandoned barns that are on their last legs. Makes for some great pics!



Just before reaching the lake I pulled over to look at unusual car that was for sale. Turned out to be a Yugo GVX turbo! Def not something you see every day, especially in this condition!



My next stop was at the camp grounds surrounding Falls Lake. I was only out for the day but decided to pitch the tent and unpack for a little practice.



After a quick setup and tear down I was back on the road and decided to pull over on the highway 50 bridge over Falls Lake. Would have been a perfect day to be on the water!



Before heading back I ventured down to the dock to take a quick photo. I soon regretted that decision and became fairly nervous when a boat passed by and I discovered that it was a floating dock.



I arrived back in Raleigh in no time and was very pleased with my new accessory. I have no doubts now that i'll be able to carry enough supplies for my spring trek and will be able to do so fairly comfortably. I decided to shoot a pic over to a friend and share my riding experience with him. He was very quick to note that I had mounted my bags backwards... After a quick adjustment I reset them and noticed that the clearance over the exhaust looked A LOT better. I guess no matter how old you are you can still get excited and forget things.