Trail of 32: The True Story of a Youthful Spirit That Knew Not of Defeat by Paul Rega

Author:Paul Rega [Rega, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deep Blue Publishing
Published: 2014-01-22T05:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

SINCE WE WOULD BE CAMPING along the entire route, we needed an efficient and lightweight method to transport all our gear. Saddlebags seemed to be the simple solution but buying them proved too costly. As was the case with many projects our troop took on, we decided to make them ourselves. It would be a big project since we needed 32 of them and someone would have to design and then sew all of them. Mr. Giannini was a man who understood precision after having spent several years as a tool and die maker. He knew that whatever design we chose it would have to be durable. It wasn’t any surprise that Jerry assigned him as our research engineer to determine what the best design was and what materials to use. Weight and water resistance were two important factors that would determine the final design of the saddlebags.

We needed a sturdy metal carrier to hold the weight of the saddlebags and their contents. Mr. “G” looked at several different racks and eventually found one that fit our bikes and was able to support the weight of the bags. After researching many different types of materials, he drafted a design for the new saddlebags. The canvas material he had chosen was thick and difficult to sew. Mr. “G” was not one to give up and after several failed attempts, he developed an ingenious way to sew the bags and was able to make a prototype.

The carriers were made of a new lightweight metal that had a dull finish and two supports on each side that attached to the rear frame of the bike. Mr. “G” explained that the carriers were made of a new alloy that had been developed for the space program. The brown prototype saddlebags were constructed of a heavy grade vinyl coated canvas. They consisted of two semi-box-shaped storage compartments with flip-over tops that hung over each side of the rear tire of the bike. One piece of canvas joined the two bags together that would be slung over the rack and attached to each side with an ingenious tether strap.

Mr. Giannini and his wife had done an excellent job of designing and sewing the first saddlebags. With only few modifications, it would become the model for the bags that we would use for our trip. When we first tested the bags on our new bikes, we realized that each bag had to be packed with the same amount of weight, or it would cause some instability. It would become a daily exercise in packing, as it was critical that each bag was properly packed or you risked serious injury if your bike was unstable.

From the beginning, we were concerned that a motorist might run into us from behind. We were like a slow moving train winding our way down the road, and knew that we had to do something to prevent a rear end collision. The new bikes came equipped with amber colored reflectors embedded in the sides of both pedals, but that was it as far as reflectors were concerned.

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