Assuming of course you accept that all of life is a learning experience.
Today I learnt how to put up my little one-man tent. It took over an hour and was not an enjoyable experience. I'm sure that once I work out the philosophy of the tent construction it will become easier and faster. At least that is what I am telling myself.
1. If you plan a little bit ahead, you can save money on accomodation, but just riding as far as you can and then looking for a place can be fun, but sometimes leaves you at a disadvantage.
2. Gibbs' Rule #9. Never go anywhere without a knife. ( Gibbs from NCIS, about the only TV crime drama worth watching at the moment )
Whilst planning for this trip, I had our youngest son pick out a knife for me from his work that had a great blade and balance, could be slid in its case down the back of a full-size boot or put onto a belt etc. The SOG knife Daniel picked out is brilliant and I've used it almost every day on this trip. So yes, this is an unpaid endorsement for SOG knives as well as the staff at Cleaver Firearms in Redcliffe, Queensland. Great knives and a great store.
3. Don't pack anything you can not afford to lose. This was the simple and pragmatic advice our oldest son Benjamin gave me when I was considering what to take. It made perfect sense then and still does now. Following this advice makes travelling by motorcycle a lot more worry-free, its quite a liberating concept.
Both of our boys are a great blessing to us.
4. Upgrade your SD cards in your cameras to the fastest ones available. I believe that at the moment that may be a "Class 10". This means that the camera can write to the card faster and you do not have to stop and wait as much, if at all, for the camera to "catch up".
5. Store your gear in a pattern. Helmet camera in jacket left pocket, digital camera in jacket right pocket, etc. It makes it easier to do a double-check and to be sure nothing is left behind.
6. As Dave from Adventure-Spec in the UK says "Overweight is under-prepared". This is borne out by the hole in the bottom of the saddle-bag that I had to patch today!
Now the lecture is over. Today was only a short ride from Wodonga to Bright, via some stores to pick up webbing etc to fix the saddle-bag hole. Tomorrow will be a fairly relaxed time, helping out with the setup for the Adventure Travel Film Festival. If you haven't been to one of these yet, I would recommend that you have a look at doing so; it is all very good fun. Now I'm off to sleep in the tent; scary stuff.