Shifting Gears Episode 7 Useful Extras

 

So Ken, this week on “Winging It” you want to talk about extra stuff- the little items you’ve learned over he years that you should just include in your kit when you’re heading out on the open road.

 

Ken

Yeah, I’m looking like I’m packing like I’ve got a minivan but I’ve actually taken this stuff and I’ve forfeited other stuff to make sure I had this stuff with me.

 

Dave

Starting with, it goes without saying, a little first aid kit.

 

Ken

Yeah I mean, this is as rudimentary as it can get.   A lot if times, uh, barring any other major catastrophes, cuts, scrapes, nicks, that’s what this is good for. If it’s serious stuff, we’re going to take it to the next step.

 

Dave

Right… you’ve got a first aid kit with you… You also have a first aid kit for your mobile phone…

 

Ken

Yeah you know what, people are using them more then I ever did for gaming and all that kind of stuff, for taking pictures, whatever the trick may be, and when you really need that phone you find out your battery’s dead.

 

Dave

Right.

 

Ken

Well, this little toy here is an instant jump pack. It has a standard connection to fit most of today’s cellphones so when you need to make that emergency call that you weren’t banking on, this is just a jump start battery all in a package, you just need a plug.

 

Dave

Okay. You’ve also got, we can go into the category of fasteners. You’ve got little zip ties, you’ve got some electrical tape, you’ve even got a cargo net. What’s the deal on fasteners?

 

Ken

You know, you’re on the road a long time, you’ve put a lot of stress on your gear, the workings on the bike, the hardware on the bike, it’s bound to happen, you hit that bump that you didn’t see and a bracket starts to give-way or a nut and bolt or whatever. I have an assortment of zip ties – large can always be small but small can’t always be large, so I just brought this one out to show for the sake of this episode. But zip ties are an amazing fix-all. This is beyond being electric tape. It’s called rescue tape and it actually stretches and bonds… it’ll deal with temperatures that normal electric tape would not deal with. It is even good for plugging holes on a radiator hose and it’ll stand up to that hot pressure and water… so rescue tape… you have to look for that by name. Then, you know what, it’s a cargo net, but it’s like having seven bungee cords all tied into each other. It may not be pretty, but maybe that bracket that holds your saddle is wobbling but you can stretch this around it and you can still bring it to the motel that night. It isn’t being out on the road somewhere.

 

Dave

Right.

 

Ken

So it can do an amazing amount of work with a couple of hooks.

 

Dave

And then I see you’ve got a little can of wrench in a can.

 

Ken

Well, you know, when you’re out on the road, things are either loose that shouldn’t be, or they’re tight that shouldn’t be. This will fix the tight ones in most cases. I’ve even had where the hydraulic clutch lever started to get a little gritty because we were riding near the ocean so much that sand spray and sea spray got in there and it was annoying. A little shot of this took care of it until I got home and lubricated it the proper way. So it’s a bit of a fix-all in a can.

 

Dave

Wow and then, when you’re done doing all of the fixing, I see you’re ready to clean-up.

 

Ken

Well, you have to do what you can and there’s not typically a hot and cold running tap at the side of the road. So these are the little handy wipes that you get on the air plane but this little tube is amazingly a waterless cleaner. You just put t out, it comes out like a toothpaste, squeeze some in your hand, start working it around, and it feels like toothpaste with pumice in it and it does an amazing job and it dries up without even needing a towel. Then you’re back on the road.
Dave

Fantstic. So this stuff you always take with you no matter what.

 

Ken

Yeah it’s down there in some little crevice and corner…

 

Dave

You know where to find it?

 

Ken

Eventually yes.
Dave

Nice job.

 

Ken

Okay.