Going on a road trip on a bike is undoubtedly one of the best adventures you can enjoy. However, there’s more to it than sparking your car and driving off into the sunset. Likewise, cruising the local highway with your bike on a Saturday afternoon isn’t the same as traversing endless miles of road on a cross-state road trip.

You’ll need a free spirit, tough-mindedness, and biking essentials to reach your destination for such a journey. In case you thought your flagship smartphone and credit card would save the day, you couldn’t be more wrong. So before you load your bike roof rack and head out, you need to bring absolute essentials along.

Here are seven of the most vital things needed to make your trip a memorable one.

Bluetooth Helmet Communicator
One of the things most riders look forward to is the soothing sound of the wind and the solitary time in a helmet. Though these can be relaxing, it’s also fun to ride with your favorite playlists bashing away. Maybe you’d like to chat with a friend or other riders on the road or follow the commands or your GPS navigator. The Bluetooth helmet communicator enables you to do all these while you enjoy your ride.

A Map
The best bike road trips focus on the journey instead of the destination. How you reach your goal is more relevant than where you make your last stop. That’s why a map is such an essential thing for a bike tour. It enables you to see the big picture, find good roads and interesting stops you’ll need to make. A good map will also provide details and descriptions of regions, routes, and destinations.

GPS Navigation System
Although you may have a traditional map, you can’t read them while on the move neither can they enable you to program a ride route. You may have a smartphone with GPS map navigation but it simply can’t replace a dedicated bike GPS.

These are usually waterproof with glove-friendly buttons. Some models even provide voice-guided navigation through Bluetooth, trip-planning, and map updates. The best part, you don’t need to be in cellphone range use a GPS navigator

Emergency Communicator
Imagine crashing your bike on a highway so remote there’re no other riders, car, or cell phone signal anywhere in sight. In such situations, you might need to wait endless hours or days before anyone finds you. Even then, you’d be at their mercy, or worst, you’d be at the mercy of the elements.

Situations like this demand a gadget that doesn’t rely on cell phone signals and that’s what the SPT Gen3 GPS messenger personal tracker does. It helps communicate your location to satellites from anywhere in the world. And you only need to hit the “SOS” button during an emergency to notify the GEOS Rescue Coordination Center of your location.

Rain suit

As you might know, the weather can be very unpredictable. It could be sunny and cool one moment, then a torrential rain begins to pour. Therefore, you should expect to get wet from the rain, even in summer.

Usually, you shouldn’t wait till you’re caught in a storm or a long steady drizzle before you learn the value of a good rain suit. A quality rain suit can help you prevent the misery of being cold and wet on your bike tour. Therefore you want to pack a rain suit, one that has reflective bright colors that stand out in poor visibility conditions.

Flat Repair Kit
Most of the bike tires available on the market today offer good grip both in wet and dry conditions. Generally, such tires can endure rides for over a thousand miles and more. However, this doesn’t make them invulnerable to punctures and cuts.

Hence, you should always expect a flat tire at any point on your road trip. The best way to prepare for this anticipation is by investing in a flat repair kit for bikes with tubeless tires. These kits are lightweight, compact, and include repair plugs.

Portable Air Compressor

So you’ve fixed the flat tire. It’s time to reinflate it. You may find some CO2 cartridges in your flat-repair kit. However, these may not suffice to inflate your tire, depending on the size fully. That’s why a dedicated and portable air compressor can make a lot of difference on a road trip. It is easy to operate and enables you to get back on the road quickly.

Conclusion
Some might think this list is too, especially if you prefer to travel light. But stats from NHTSA show that about 4985 motorcyclists died in crashes in 2018. Therefore you can never compromise on safety while on the road. Depending on the type of bike you are traveling with, you may have saddlebags, a top trunk, or compartments for gear. However, if this isn’t the case, you’ll need to get either a strap-on suitcase or accessory luggage.

If you prioritize convenience, then investing in a tank bag will be best. They have a map, GPS compartment, sunblock, and other perks. When purchasing this gear, it’s vital to ensure that you get nothing but the best quality that more can buy. And remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

Emma

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