Whether you like the idea of the minimalist lifestyle or not, it can be very useful for adventure travel. For years we have been trying to educate customers about this in our conversations with them however we thought of penning it down in hope to reach a larger audience.
We have picked up the habit of packing from the best, our parents. As a child I remember my parents packing for family vacations, they would pack everything for all those “what if situations”. Can I blame them for over thinking? No, because our usual mode of travel was the train, and the only hassle was carrying all those luggage to-from the railway station. Over a period of time as I started traveling on a motorcycle this habit ended up costing me a lot. This got me asking myself, if less is more and if it can potentially make an adventure even more adventurous then why don’t more riders do it and embrace the minimalist lifestyle on the road? What we need to start doing is ask ourselves these following questions.
- What if I get a flat/breakdown and have to push the bike? Would I be able to do so with all that luggage?
- Would I be able to lift the bike alone after a fall, especially in dirt, slush and sand?
- Is my setup restricting me from exploring unknown place because of the overall weight of the bike?
Why is less, more?
- Less allows you to ride better.
- Less things to pack and unpack everyday.
- Easy to mount and un-mount everyday.
- Allows you to explore even the most sketchy route. After all that’s the adventure we all long for.
- Buy local. Support local economy. In return you can enjoy the local culture and their cuisine.
In the country like India which is so largely populated, it’s not that easy to get stranded for too long. You are bound to come across someone who would help you through your peril. Its highly unlikely for there to be shortage of food or drinking water. But for emergency situations, you can always carry energy bars like “The Huda Bars” which are small but packed with a lot of punch and enough source of energy. You can reduce the clothing you carry quite a bit by investing in good quality, quick dry base layer to wear under the riding gear, eliminating the need to carry multiple clothes. So if you honestly think about this, you can actually shrink your luggage down to the bare minimum.
In our experience so far, we have always come across customers looking for the biggest capacity bag that’s available with us. Customers always tend to go backwards, instead of asking what is it that I would like to load on the bike for a more comfortable ride most of the riders look for the biggest luggage system. For this I can only say one thing, if you have some or any space, you will find a way to FILL IT.
If given a choice, we would all just ride without any luggage system. Wouldn’t you agree? Unfortunately there are things that we cannot travel without. So when you start preparing, jot down the things you ABSOLUTELY need to complete your ride. This could get difficult for most but just try. Anything more is just luxury and that luxury can become an inconvenience for your ride. And then buy luggage system accordingly.
