nklr - off-brand thermarest?

[George Basinet]

RM wrote:

> Have you guys had success with any of the cheaper Thermarest knock-offs? > > RM >

Have you looked at the ones on http://www.Sierratradingpost.com I've always been happy with my purchases from them. George Escondido, CA

[Kris Cichon]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, 29th of September, 2001 - Santa Rosalia, Baja California - M xico ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hola amigos y amigas! I cannot believe how fast time flies by; a few weeks have passed since my last entry from Ojai. I will try to relate everything that had happened in the meantime as best as I can. After the horrible tragedy that struck our nation on September 11th, I, along with everyone else, had a very difficult time coping with the reality. My heart cried for the victims and their families. It cried for the shattered dreams of a peaceful future. I spent the memorable day glued to the TV screen not believing my own eyes. "Is this some horrible joke?" I asked repetitively, "It can't be true!" In the meantime I was trying to call New York, where my father lives. I did not succeed until late evening hours. When I finally got him on the phone I was very relieved to find out that he was all right. In face of the drama my plans became very insignificant. After the initial shock wore off I gradually picked up what was left of my carefully arranged schedule. I met with Mel Moore from the Kawasaki Headquarters near LA. Mel went out of his way to help with press interviews. I did succeed in talking to several editors, such as Motorcyclist and American Rider. Mel also arranged for filming by Speed Vision. Well, I hope my performance was acceptable... I was very nervous and very tired. It took most of the day to shoot the footage; a day or riding in a full gear in the blazing Californian sun. Kawasaki also did some minor work on the bike, such as an oil change, new tires, and general checkup. Thank you guys, I appreciate it. Special thanks to Mel, who tried very hard to make my stay in LA as productive as possible. In the meantime I managed to visit friends, Iwona and Peter Szymanski. Last year they took six months to travel all over Central America and Mexico. They have shared a lot of secrets with me... thanks a lot Iwona and Peter! I am sure I will benefit greatly from your suggestions. Finally leaving LA behind I headed toward the border. I was eager to cross into Baja, freeing myself of all the stressful business matters. But destiny had other plans for me. Following a suggestion of Toby Lampson, after arriving in San Diego I called Elden Carl, the unofficial "guru of the KLR". Elden and his wonderful wife Paulene Read invited me to stay with them. I gratefully accepted, since the hour was already late. Little did I know of Elden s plans for my bike. I wanted to leave the next morning! Well, it took 2 full days to go over the entire bike, 2 days of hard work on Elden's part, and serious learning on my part. Among other things he worked on the valves, and thought me how to perfectly adjust the chain tension. In the meantime he entertained me with some wonderful stories about his and Pauline s trips to Baja. Elden insists that Pauline rides the bike, even though she is a passenger. According to him riding two up on a dirt bike requires great skills from both riders. I agree, especially in the light of the fact that Pauline is over 70 years old. Great job Pauline! I would love to ride with both of you some time in the future. Having everything straightened up, I finally left for Baja on Friday, the 21st of September. Elden accompanied me to San Vincente, where he met with the director of Bethesda Teaching Ministry, Bill Lawrence. Bill and his wife Kay ran an orphanage and a special education school on their Rancho Santa Marta. Their operation started 21 years ago and exists solely on donation. They permanently house about 50 special education children, and have another 80 coming during the week. The children sleep in very clean dormitories, 8 to 10 to one, each taken care of by a set of house parents. The school employs several teachers, one of which I had an opportunity to meet. If you would consider helping the orphanage in any kind of a way, it would be greatly appreciated. They have a California office at: P.O. Box 20028 El Cajon Ca 92121 Tel. 619 2581358 www.ranchosantamarta.org malito: santamarta@... After saying good-bye to Elden and the children I headed south, toward the Great Unknown. I was happy to be on the road again, but, somehow, I did not feel all the anticipated excitement. It was my second time in Baja. Passing through all the familiar places I could not help but think about my husband with whom I visited here 3 years ago. I suddenly realized how much I missed him... It did not take long for the magic of Baja to take over my mind. As the Central Desert unfolded ahead of me, the blues gradually disappeared. Suddenly a though struck me: "I am in Mexico, alone, it is true!", as if I did not know that already... Yes, it was no longer a dream... huge Cardon cacti all around me, the unmistakable odor of the food stands, limping, stray dogs barking from around every corner, children waving, truck drivers honking, women glazing seductively over their shoulders.... Viva Mexico, here I am! In the midst of my ecstasy I realized that the temperature has reached 110 F! Wow! This is not going to be as easy as I though! A few days have passed since that time, and I am still not used to the heat. Before leaving on this journey I swore to always ride in full gear, that is protective jacket and pants. I am just about to break that promise... The extreme heat combined with the hot air blown on my lower legs from under the engine created a private hell for me. It feels like riding inside a giant oven. I tried to ride with my feet on the highway bars, or with the heels of my boots hooked up on the passengers foot pegs. It helps a bit, but it does not do a thing for my upper body. Even my favorite activity, photography, had to be put on hold. I simply can not bring myself to stop to take pictures... too hot for such foolishness! Do not worry though, I have taken enough pictures in the early morning hours to show you how truly beautiful Baja is. Shortly after reaching Catavina, I turned east toward Bahia de los Angeles, where I wanted to spend a day or two relaxing on the beach. Approaching the town I was almost sorry for my decision... the reading on the thermometer reached 118F! But a very refreshing breeze coming from the impossibly blue waters of the Sea of Cortez quickly dried off my sweaty forehead. After a short stop for a cold drink, I headed for Camp Gecko, a grouping of few beach houses about 6 kilometers from town. There I was able to rent a wonderful thatched roof house on the beach for $20 a day. The place has no electricity, but the owner, a local doctor, runs a generator once a day and thus is able to filter water and make ice. However, the houses have showers and a small kitchen with a propane stove and propane run fridge. I spent 3 wonderful days relaxing in the shaded hammock on "my own" porch, swimming with the dolphins, and chasing the pelicans. The birds did not want to cooperate for the photo sessions! Refreshed and full of energy I left Bahia de los Angeles on 29th of September. While fueling at the local station I learned about the hurricane sweeping over the Central Mexico and southern Baja. Ooops! Change of plans! La Paz and Cabo San Lucas, my next destinations, where flooded by heavy rainfalls. Not being particularly fond of riding in 100 mph winds, I decided to cut short my visit to Baja and take a ferry from Santa Rosalia to Guayamas, instead of La Paz - Mazatlan as originally planned. Lucky me, arriving in Santa Rosalia I learned that the ferry is scheduled to leave the same evening. I also learned that due to the hurricane all ferried from La Paz are temporarily suspended. To my surprise the ticket for the bike and me was about twice as much as I have expected. It cost me over $130 US to ship to the mainland, Mexico! What a waste, I thought; I could have taken another route instead. Having no other choice I went to the bank and exchanged a proper amount of US$ to pesos. By the way, the current exchange rate is about 9.33 pesos to 1 US$. Thus, my visit to Baja cut short, I was due to board a ferry around 9PM for a long and arduous trip across the Sea of Cortez. I was sorry to leave so soon, but I felt I made a right decision. As it turned out later, I was right. While waiting to boarding I thought about how expensive Baja has gotten within last few years. I was spending a lot more money than my budget was allowing for. Sadly, I observed on many occasions how local people take advantage of unsuspecting tourists charging an arm and a leg for services worth half the price. Too bad, since this gorgeous land has so much to offer, most of which is slowly being spoiled by greediness. Sincerely Yours ... Mariola Cichon - The Wind Flower //From Globeriders: - Here she is, back on The Road !!! - READ ALL REPORTS describing her extraordinary, epic, history making JOURNEY at WWW.RIDEOFTHEHEART.COM. Enjoy one of the best picture collection ever presented on the web. Support Ride Of The Heart - make a donation or purchase an incredible PHOTO-JOURNAL CD --- first documentary material ever offered while still ON THE ROAD - for all details please visit WWW.RIDEOFTHEHEART.COM With all regards - webmaster@...//

[Kris Cichon]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Tuesday, 2nd of October, 2001 Mazatlan, M xico N-23, 11;W-106, 25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- My friends, my loyal readers, I am in Mazatl n, one of the most beautiful coastal cities of M xico. Today is Tuesday, the third day of my visit. I did not plan to stay here this long at all, I was just going to spend a night here. My prolonged stay is due to prolonged back pain, which has bothered me ever since I got off the ferry. It is getting better though, with a series of shots and some pills I should be back on the road by tomorrow morning. The passage from Baja to Guajamas took 12 hours, instead of 8. As I waited to board I was astounded by lack of any kind of activity on the vessel throughout countless daytime hours. I assumed that everything must have already been taken care off, and the crew is simply relaxing before the departure. Wrong! Around 9PM (the ferry was scheduled to depart at 10 PM), as by a touch of a magic wand, everyone arose and suddenly remembered that a whole bunch of stuff needed to be taken care off, such as for example food and fresh water provisions. Around 9:45 several groups of officials had showed up, some with dogs, for inspection. The process of opening luggage and explaining why, when, how long, etc. repeated itself at least 5 times. The guys were totally stunned by the fact that I am traveling alone, as if they never encountered such a freak before. But they did not give me too hard of a time; only one group asked me to open one of my panniers. Since I, along with most other travelers, bought the cheapest ticket, I was to spend the night in a so-called salon, a large room with rows of upholstered chairs. The chairs, along with everything else on the vessel, without a doubt remembered times 2-3 decades ago. This was illustrated by water dripping all over the place during the passage. The crew did not seem to mind, on the contrary, the moment the ship left Santa Rosalia they immediately head for the bar! Dancing, singing, and drinking must be a part of their duties, since the officers did not mind too much. Soon the ship started rocking and groaning. I could not help but worry about the bike. Even though I personally supervised the tying with chains and ropes, I somehow had a hard time trusting these guys. After all, I had no idea what kind of weather lied ahead of us, and how high of the waves we were to conquer. My worries turned out to be unnecessary; everything was fine, and the bike survived untouched. I, on the other hand, still am suffering the consequences. The salon I was to sleep in was air-conditioned to the point of freezing. OK, I though, this is nice, since the oppressive heat of the day made me very tired. At least I am going to be able to get some rest. I woke up around 1 AM. I was freezing even though I was wearing my motorcycle gear! This is it, I thought, out to the deck we go. Outside it was very hot and humid. I slept for about half an hour, and then moved back to the saloon. This process repeated itself several times during the night. The morning welcomed me with a hint of a back pain. Great! Now I will get stuck in the middle of nowhere not being able to move. The pain was not very bad until the next day, so managed to ride to Mazatlan. It turned out to be a good choice, since not all the roads around the area of Guajamas are closed due to the raging hurricane. The weather here is still OK. The unexpected stay in Mazatlan was far from being unpleasant. I found a relatively cheap hotel (Hotel Belmar) right on the cost, and rented a room with a balcony overlooking the ocean below. Not a bad deal for $22 a day. There is a whole bunch of small restaurants in close vicinity, so I did not have to suffer too much walking around. Next day after the arrival, my back was giving me so much pain, I could hardly move. A visited the neighborhood pharmacy and took care of the problem... I was given the initial shot, bought 3 more, and also got some pills. What? Not smart? Perhaps not, but one has to take chances some times. I figured the worst that might happen is that the medication will not help. But it did! The city center is located just a few blocks from where I am. A huge cathedral serves as a landmark, visible from far away. This is where on Sunday night a music festival was held. What a treat! Not only did I have a rare opportunity to witness local talents presenting the best of the best of Mexican music , I also could finally eat for next to nothing. What a change from Baja prices. This was what I have expected, tacos for 5 pesos, instead of 20! When still on the road to Mazatlan, I passed through several small towns and villages. Since in Mexico toll highways are very expensive (equivalent to about 5$US for 50 miles) I usually try to find my way around to get on the free road. These roads run through the hearts of small establishments, many of which are extremely poor. Huts weaved from sticks and mud shelter skinny children. Dirty children take care of sick looking cows. Limping dogs bark at the cows, miserable mules, and donkeys. Everyone tries to sell something to everyone else. As an affect, there are dozens of food and juice stands of different quality. Some of them relatively clean, some horribly dirty. Those who do not sell, pass the time sitting in the shade while observing the traffic. Roma and I usually create quite a stir, especially when stopping at such place for a drink or other need. I do not mind all this commotion at all; these warm-hearted people do not mean any harm - they simply are surprised by such a big bike, and by what is totally beyond their comprehension: a woman traveling on it... without a husband! Such is the true life in Mexico, away from the glitter of tourism and expensive places. Such is the Mexico I came to see and experience... I truly appreciate the opportunity. Since another storm is cooking on the coast south of me, instead of following Rt 15 I will turn inland toward Guadalajara, Morelia, Tuluca, and Oxaca. In a few days, if everything goes as planned, I should cross the border with Guatemala! Talk to You soon ... Mariola Cichon - The Wind Flower //From Globeriders: - Here she is, back on The Road !!! - READ ALL REPORTS describing her extraordinary, epic, history making JOURNEY at WWW.RIDEOFTHEHEART.COM. Enjoy one of the best picture collection ever presented on the web. Support Ride Of The Heart - make a donation or purchase an incredible PHOTO-JOURNAL CD --- first documentary material ever offered while still ON THE ROAD - for all details please visit WWW.RIDEOFTHEHEART.COM With all regards - webmaster@...//