BMW MOA ON published a G310GS article that I wrote in 2022 about my upgrades and my 2022 adventures. I’m currently writing 4 (?) more articles covering my 2023 and 2024 adventures. I have parts 2, 3, and 4 finished and I’m starting on part 5 tomorrow. As a teaser, here’s the preamble and prereview I’m using at the start of each article (assuming that flies with the editor of course):
The Story of a Little Giant – Part N (with N = 2, 3, 4, & 5)
by Jerry Glasow, BMWMOA #35480
[PREAMBLE] My Little Giant is an upgraded 2022 G 310 GS that weighs 398 lbs fully fueled and ready-to-ride. We’ve logged 33,498 miles of adventures in three years all over the US, plus once into Canada and twice into Mexico. I wrote up our 2022 adventures (Dec 2022 BMW MOA ON), but when I tried to write up our 2023 adventures, I lost steam when my draft reached 38 pages. I’m back now because BMW’s announcement of the same-weight-more-capable Concept F 450 GS means BMW is doubling down on lightweight adventure riding. This has energized me to share the full story of my Little Giant for the sake of anyone thinking about getting their own little giant.
[PREVIEW] To make this manageable, I’m doing it in parts. Part 1 (Dec 2022 BMW ON) described my Little Giant’s upgrades and our 2022 adventures riding 7,000 miles diagonally across half the North American continent. Part 2 describes my 2023 adventures riding at the Death Valley Noobs Rally (DVNR), a failed attempt riding the California Backcountry Discovery Route – South (CABDR-SO), riding at the April Fools Adventure Rally (AFAR), riding the Mid-Atlantic BDR (MABDR), riding the Pennsylvania BDR-X (PABDR-X), riding the Trans American Trail (TAT) Atlantic Spur, riding at the BMW National Rally in Virginia, and riding the TAT from North Carolina to Colorado. Part 3 describes my 2023 adventures riding the TAT from Colorado to the Pacific Ocean. Part 4 describes my 2023 adventures riding more of the TAT in Oregon, riding the TAT Minnesota Spur, and riding the Black Hills BDR-X (BHBDR-X). Part 5 describes my 2024 adventures riding the TAT between North Carolina and Virginia; training with Bret Tkacs in Virginia; riding a NW BDR Loop that included the ORBDR-X, the ORBDR, the BMW National Rally in Oregon, the WABDR, and the IDBDR; riding at Wailin Wayne Weekend; a failed attempt riding Copper Canyon in Mexico; and riding Baja to Cabo and back.
A picture to further stir your imagination…on the TAT Near Wyoming Peak in the Wyoming Range in Wyoming