Test Pack and Some Moto Miles

I had a free weekend to head back home and spend some time with the fam for a late Father's Day and cousin's graduation party.  My sister Nicole was also visiting with the the niece and nephew, which gave me another good reason to load up the bike with a test pack and put some much-needed miles on the Dakar.  I filled up both Rotopax fuel tanks, weighted up both panniers, and also threw my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad in the dry bag.  I also got to try out my new Shoei Hornet DS helmet for the first time at highway speed.  Below are some shots of the Dakar loaded up.

What would normally take about 1 hr 40 minutes to get home Conshy from Philly, ended up taking 3 hrs.  An accident earlier that afternoon still had some lingering effects on the rush hour commuters.  It took about 1 hr to go the first 10 miles and after that it was stop and go.  Once I finally reached highway speeds I got to feel out the helmet.  It seemed pretty comfortable up to about 60 mph.  Once above 60 however it did seem noisier than what I was used to.  My cheekpads also had some give in them, so whenever I turned my head sideways to check for blind spots, the helmet had a little extra jerk.  It seemed to catch more of the wind than my normal road helmet do to a slightly more oblong shape and added visor.  The hot spot on the crown of my head didn't bother me as much as previous rides.  I'm still not 100% sold on this helmet and am gonna need some more testing to figure out how best to protect my noggin for the big trip.  Everything else held up well.  The Rotopax and dry bags were solid as a rock.  I also tried my camelbak for the first time on a motorcycle which proved to be a lifesaver in the 90 deg humidity.  I even got to try out my rescue tape to repair a broken bite valve on my camelbak nozzle.  Once I got to my parents, the niece and nephew were super excited to sit on the bike and try out all my gear.

Rather than head straight home on Sunday, we all went to Knoebels for some good old fashion amusement park fun.  My aunt works at the Polish Union and they had one of the pavilions reserved for the afternoon.  Many thanks for their great hospitality.  A log flume and tea cup ride later and I was off.  This time I took some more enjoyable back roads to Philly.  The sweltering heat didn't go anywhere, but it was still well worth the miles.  Overall, the trip got me loads more stoked for the big adventure.