Preparations for the part of the TET Turkey ride

I missed my motorcycle adventures so much, and this spring, I will finally have a new one.

This will be one week's trip. The plan is to arrive in Istanbul on a plane, rent a motorcycle, and ride a loop around 2000 kilometers long. The first half will follow the TET Turkey route, but then we will ride back to Istanbul along the coast of the black sea. The daily distance budget is 250 - 350 kilometers. I tried to plan the route that way so we would camp on the banks of a river or a lake. Here is the link to the route: Turkey adventure. I am a big fan of Komoot for route planning. Highly recommend.

I wanted to bring my fishing rod, but I do not have enough space in my luggage. Here is the list of things I packed:

• Tent
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping mat
• Chair
• Cookset (gas stove, pot, utensils, etc.)
• Water filter
• Boots
• Jacket
• Gloves (two pairs)
• Helmet liners
• Rain gear
• Bunch of straps, paracord, net, carabiners, metal zip ties
• Knife
• Small wrench

All that is already 20 kilograms, so maybe I need to rethink what to bring with me or finally buy a new lightweight tent or wear boots instead of sneakers on the plane. I will also carry a helmet and a backpack with my clothes. Yeah, surprisingly, a lot of stuff.

I think I might need a waterproof bag, because the idea is to rent something like CRF300L, and I doubt it will be equipped with a luggage system. But I am waiting for the information from my riding buddy, who now lives in Istanbul. He will check out rentals as soon as the riding season starts. So I will have more info on the bikes and what I need to bring with me or buy there on arrival. For sure, I want to have a tire repair kit and spare tube.

While preparing gear I found out that I am barely able to zip up my jacket. But I still have a couple of months to fix that, and now I am a salad guy. Wish me luck and perseverance.