Minimalist Adventure Riding

  The Acerbis Vision Handguards come in a few colors (white, black, and orange) and include 4 watt LED lights on each guard.  Depending on where you look these come in around $125 to $150.  They are a bit more expensive than standard handguards, but remember they pull double duty.  Standard handguards will run you at least $70 and auxiliary lights will cost about the same at the low end.  Depending on the alternative you pick these will at least break even with those other choices, and this way you only have to figure instillation of one product. I choose the white to better match the stock Honda color scheme.  I was a little disappointed with the color when it arrived, it is more of a pearl white than a pure white like Honda uses.  Other than the slight color difference the handguards look great.  Don't be expecting a super protective handguard though.  they only have a single point of attachment, unlike the more robust offerings from Acerbis and others that have a two point

Maple syrup is something that can easily be done at home for relatively little money if you have some maple trees on your property and you fall in the right region.  The Northern United States and Canada fall into the perfect zone for maple syrup.  The main season for maple sugaring is in the spring time when you have nights below freezing and warm sunny days above freezing.  This freeze thaw cycle is what causes the sap to push up from the roots to the branches to help in new bud growth.  The sap typically runs for 4 to 6 weeks.  I am told you can also tap maple trees in the late fall, but I have not personally tried it.  One season a year is enough for me due to the time commitment this process takes.   The first thing you have to do is prep.  Don't wait until the weather is right to figure out your plan for maple sugaring.  If you decide to purchase buckets and spiels (like shown above) you will be out of luck if you try and get them during the season.  Most places w

I have been looking for a camping option that is easily pack-able on my bike.  I have some small tents but because of the poles there is a limit on how small you can pack them down.  So when looking through the camping blogs and forums I came across groups of people who love hammocking.   I read about the benefits of  this mystical hammock thing.  They raved about how they were off the ground and no longer had to worry about that rock that seems to crawl under even the thickest sleeping pad, how easy they were to setup and take down, and how they felt closer to nature.  I'm not sure your any closer to nature in a hammock then a tent, but other than that I figured it was worth a try. I purchased the Eclypse II Backpacking hammock from TBA ($55) and the Hammock bliss extra large rain fly ($55).  I thought this was everything I needed, but being a hammock newbie I didn't realize they generally don't come with tree straps (we will get back to this later). Hamm

This is the Bell MX-9 Helmet.  Personally I have been an HJC fan for the last decade, but alas HJC hasn't caught up to the adventure riding market yet.  If you want a street helmet or a dirt helmet they will sell you a great one with plenty of safety certs to back it up for a very reasonable price.  When it comes to adventure helmets your options are getting better than they once were, but most of them are $400+ or you can go much cheaper and get something with a questionable safety value. This is where I was hoping the Bell MX-9 would be a good fit right in the middle.  I was looking for a reasonable price point, good looks, functionality, and safety.  At a price of right around $200, and DOT and ECE certification it has two of the boxes checked.  Its not the best looking adventure helmet out there, but its half the price of the better looking ones so its close enough for me.  Functionally it scores about a 8 out of ten with me.  The fit is good, and the chin

THE BREAK IN PERIOD IS OVER! So yesterday when I had to make a trip up to Ubly Michigan for work it was time to get some quality saddle time on the new CRF250L.  You may also notice there are some new Acerbis Vision hand guards on my bike.  I will cover those more later after my upcoming trail riding trip in mid July. After a cold morning ride north, the work portion of my day was over around 2:00 pm and it was time for the fun part of the ride.  Due East of Ubly on Atwater road was lake Huron and M25 aka Lakeshore road.  It was a perfect clear day (as you can see from the picture above) and there was almost no traffic.  It should have been about a two hour ride, but between a couple stops to take pictures and look at the lake, and missing a turn or two it was about three and a half hours all together. From Google Maps  If you have a long afternoon to ride I would recommend taking some time to ride M25.  Your not always right next to the lake, but there are plenty of day