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Chris and I have always taken the same approach to planning trips. First we make a feeble attempt at the internet , next we go to the bookstore and drink gourmet coffee while sitting around the travel section, and finally we start making lists. We write lists, we revise lists, we check things off our lists and we re-write them when they get messy. Eventually our lists land on a shelf and at the last minute we end up throwing some things in a bag and calling a cab. Even though this plan has proven to be extremely successful in the past, we knew we would have to do a little more for this trip. So here it is, everything we have done, everything we have purchased and everything we have packed on the bikes to survive for 2 years.

*ITEM*	*CHRIS*	*SPICE*	*COMMENTS*
Riding Gear:	HJC Symax Helmet, Aerostitch Darien Jacket, BMW Savannah Pants, Savannah Boots, BMW Rally Gloves, 1 pair rain gloves, 1 pair rain pants, 1 BMW electric vest	SHOEI Helmet, BMW Savannah 2 Suit with gortex liners, BMW Savannah Boots, BMW Rally Gloves, 1 pair rain gloves, 1 pair winter gloves, Kinetsu electric vest	The Savannah 2 Suit was the only choice after many tries. Someone could make some big bucks cutting clothes for women!
Shirts	5 Tees, 2 long sleeve running shirts, and 1 short sleeve button down from Patagonia that the ladies can't resist!	3 tees, 4 tanks/bras, 2 long sleeve running shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts for fashion	Good planning so far
Pants:	3 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of jeans, and 2 pair of action pants good for hiking, running, sleeping, and going out.	3 pair of shorts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of action pants, and 1 pair of capris for fashion purposes.	Zip-off pants/shorts are practical but I don't seem to have the zip-off build if you know what I mean
Underthings:	6 pair of underwear, 5 pair of wicking socks, 2 pair of wool socks	8 pair of underwear, 7 pair of wicking socks, 2 pair of winter socks 2 bras,	I can't believe a week's supply is enough...I'll let you know.
Shoes:	1 pair of Chacos sandals, 1 pair gortex Nike trail runners	1 pair flip flops (for showers), 1 pair of New Balance trail runners	I expect we will make a few additions to this list.
Winter Protection:	1 Fleece shirt, 1 thin fleece jacket, 1 pair of long underwear, 1 stocking cap, balaclava, glove liners, 1 pair winter riding gloves	1 fleece jacket, 1 pair long underwear, 1 pair thermal running pants, balaclava, glove liners, fleece scarf, fleece hat	After camping above 10,000' in Colorado I think we made some smart decisions.
Additonal:	1 ball cap, 1 desert camo sun hat (this one has some history), a bathing suit, 3 bandanas, 2 pair sunglasses, 1 camel back, camp towel	1 bathing suit, 2 bandanas, boxers for sleeping, 2 pair sunglasses, 72 oz camel back, camp towel.	Here is one of those huge life changes, at home I would use a big CLEAN, fresh and fluffy cotton towel everyday. Now I have to use a 12" X 24" swatch of superabsorbant synthetic blue stuff for 6 days straight. Poor me!
Toiletries:	The usual stuff required to keep a girlfriend	The simplicity of having just the basics is nice until you arrive into a city and see everyone else clean and fresh with brushed hair.	This area might need some modifications once we have been on the road for a while.

The rest of what is jammed in every nook, cranny and dry bag

Camping Gear

2 man Walrus tent, 2 sleeping pads, 2 3-season sleeping bags, 2 camping pillows (we went without for 3 weeks), 2 cocoons - sleeping bag liners you can use alone, in hotels, etc. Get one, they're great! 4 mini maglights, 1 head lamp (gift from a wonderful family we met in California. I think they felt sorry for us holding our flashlights in our mouth), MSR Dragonfly stove and fuel reserve, 2-candle lanterns which we eventually tossed out, Nalgene water bottle, MSR water filter, small ax, small shovel, cutting board, grill, various utinsils, coffee press, titanium 4-piece cookset, matches, spare candles, cleaning supplies, sponge, compass, duct tape, bailing wire, velcro, elec. tape, and spare batteries.

Tools and Spares

In order of accessibility, 4,5,6 mm T-handle hex wrenches, Gerber multi tool, screwdriver, pliers, tire irons, tube repair kit, small tool bag, fuses, spare bulbs, cable ties, metric sockets, box wrenches, channel locks, wire, wire connectors, voltmeter, mallot, big wrench for wheel nuts, washers, screws, nuts, bolts, WD-40, lava soap, brake fluid, clutch fluid, spare clutch plates, spare air filters, qt of oil, pack-safe luggage lock, brake & parts cleaner, spare brake and clutch levers, RTV silicone, spare regulator, spare fuel line, spare jets, extra tubing, spare tubes, rope, spark plugs and probably a few more things I forgot but cannot live without!

Paperwork & Books

Passport with 30 extra photos, Driver's License (3 color copies), International Driver's License, Motorcycle Title, Motorcycle registration, Motorcycle Insurance (US & Mexico), Yellow Card, Business Cards, International Health Insurance, proof of funds. 4 Copies of everything. We also have Cash (both US and Mexican), credit cards, checks, and a fake wallet with expired cards and fake ID's to hand over if "asked".

Additonal

Lonely Planet Mexico, Footprints Mexico and Central America, Spanish Dictionary, Christian Science Textbooks, KLR Manuels, maps of our route across the US and into Mexico (AAA has a great map and Sanborne Mexican Insurance has info for smaller towns), Journals

Electronics

Macintosh G4 12" laptop - Very durable and we are able to burn our photos and videos to send them home. One drawback about the Macintosh is its incompatibility with ALL Garmin software. No ability to downlaod their world maps. Handspring Visor PDA for easy access to info, it syncs to the computer. Cool-Pix Nikon 4500 Digital Camera, Panasonic DVX 100 HD video camera, Leica Minilux Zoom 35mm camera for the Ansel Adams shots, Garmin 176C GPS with a 128mb datacard loaded with maps for all of Mexico, Central and South America. 2 Apple iPods that are backup hard drives and MP3 players which hold 4000 songs each. 1 set of Sony mini speakers for the iPods (a great set up that weighs less then a 12oz bottle of water). An electronic 6 language interpreter. Spare batteries, CDRW and DVDRW blank discs. A 12 volt power inverter wired to the bike to charge batteries while on the road.

Shots and First Aide

Alanta is the International Headquarters for the CDC so you can imagine the amount of information we were able to find about vaccinations, safety measures and common sense. Our first step was a consultation with the CDC's Travel Well Clinic. It lasted 4 hours. Our 2nd step was to go home and reconsider leaving town!

Shots:

Hep A & B, Rabies, Japanese Encephalitis, Cholera, Yellow Fever, Oral Typhoid, Polio, Meningecoccal Meningitis, Chicken Pox, Tetanus and Diptheria. A total of 15 shots over the course of 4 months.

First Aide:

Pretty extensive kit, complete with creams, rubs, and wraps. A snake bite kit, in addition there is Mefloquine for Malaria, Epi Pen in case of a bad reaction, Cipro for intestinal "issues", Syringes (with letter of permission), water tablets, Advil, and some spit for good measure

Luggage

We each have a set of Touratech Aluminum Panniers with Happy Trails Racks...Easy to beat back into shape!

Chris

A Dual Star Tankbag with tons of pockets, Dual Star Tank Panniers, and a custom order Touratech Top Case for electronics. Chris did some specialized foam work for protection that has proven to keep everything safe and secure. An XL Ortlieb drybag and an old med size duffel for clothes.

Spice

In addition to the panniers I use an XL Tourmaster duffel, an REI waterproof dry sac, and a cheap old KLR tank bag that holds the lucky bear tooth I found in Arkansas.

We both have EZ Touring full bike covers.