The first mad rush of adrenaline came at the beginning of July. I decide to use Custom Built Crates from Milford to crate and coordinate the pickup of my bike. I conveyed the address to Joni. She told me she would need my bike right after the July 4 holiday. Now the problem was that I didn't take my bike to Honda until the Saturday before the holiday. I now had to get my bike tuned up, packed and crated before July 9. Luckily in my line of work, I understand what the goal is and just put my head down to get it accomplished.
I started packing my bag on Tuesday July 5. I hadn't tried to put my gear on my bike yet. I had visualized it quite a bit since reading the book provided by my brother. I know the one tip I appreciated was to buy two and half gallon zip lock bags. You can pack different things in each bag. You separate out your clothes for an easy reach each day. Luckily, all my clothes fit in the bag John had let me borrow.
Honda got right on my bike and I had it back July 7. They asked me to scruff the tires before I crated the bike. I rode around a bit before heading home to pack my bike. I put all y gear on in my garage. Having assessed it's security, I took a ride around the neighborhood. All seemed to be in place.
I took off for Milford to drop off my bike on July 8. The first thing I noticed was that at 70 mph my bag on my passenger seat didn't want to stay in place. It's really quite concerning as you ride along pushing it back into place. Having gone 50 plus miles with everything still attached, I dropped my bike with Eric at Custom Built Crates. Their customer service is A+. This was not their first rodeo and you can tell. Eric assessed my bike for the height of my crate. He gauged the equipment I had brought. I advised him to take off my removable windshield and mirrors. With that evaluation over, I left my bike in his hands to get it ready for its trip. A full 20 days before I arrive I have had to release my bike for the days ahead.
R and L carriers came and picked up my bike. I asked Joni how many times she thought my bike might get docked between now and its arrival in Anchorage. We are guessing it won't be more than five or six times. That's just five or six times someone with a fork lift can shake my crate and attempt to move my bike. You have no control over this fact. You got to trust your craters that your equipment is in tight. You also have to trust your shipper that she picked a reliable carrier. I hope for a success story when I get to Anchorage.
No comments:
Post a Comment