Mike and I have ridden together on our motorcycle, Mike as the driver and me as the pillion rider, for 10 years, and we've always communicated by poking each other on the shoulder or leg and pointing. We've ridden for hours in silence, listening to the sound of the bike and the wind rushing past us.
That all changed this weekend when we purchased the Sena 20S communication system. Shawn at Cycle Gear in Surprise, Arizona, is a master with the Sena system, explaining how it works, all the details we need to know, and installing it in our helmets in minutes.
We took our first test ride using the system today, and after we figured out that Mike needs to keep the microphone closer to his mouth so I don't hear static, and how to control the volume, we were able to comfortably talk while riding. Instead of poking his shoulder to point out the herd of pronghorn alongside the road, I told him to "look at the pronghorn on the right". We were able to discuss which direction to take at the stoplight instead of trying to yell through our helmets amid the noisy traffic. Don't get me wrong - we weren't talking non-stop, and there was more silence than words. Still, talking with each other while riding allows us to share the experience in a different way.
We've used Butler motorcycle maps for several years to plot our travel routes and find the twisty, sweeping, little-used roads that we love. We're planning a cross-country ride this summer to ride through the 19 lower-48 states we haven't been in yet on the bike, and today we ordered Butler maps to complete our collection. We not only want to ride through every state, we want to experience the best motorcycle roads in each state, see new parts of the country, seek out interesting places, and zoom through the countryside. I can't wait to receive the maps and start planning our trip in earnest!
