10 Replacements for Spring

Springtime. Hello baseball. And with teams hitting the field you will no doubt notice some updates in each roster.

Now, if you pull out your travel gear, which you haven’t accessed much over the last 6 months, you may notice a few key players in need of replacement. We recently went through ours and here’s what we found. Items marked with a * can be purchased in the Sound RIDER! store.

Hand Wipes* – Imagine getting done with a roadside mechanical, pulling out the hand wipes to clean up only to find out they are dried up bits of fiber paper and nothing more. No vitamin E, no Aloe, no moisture. Replace with a fresh, sealed package. We have wipes for your hands as well as your entire body under the Health & First Aid tab

Mosquito Juice* - We pulled this one up and it felt empty. In fact, it had broken somewhere along the way. Now this explains that funky smell after the last dual sport ride of the year. Even if your bottle isn’t broken, have you got enough to get you through the coming season? We have some full strength 100 DEET under the Health & First Aid tab 

Sunscreen* and Lip Balm – SPF factors are reduced over time. If the bottle is marked SPF30 and is past its expiration date, just how much SPF is really there? We have SPF 30 sunscreen that won't sting your eyes under the Health & First Aid tab

Soks* - we love our SOKz that are awesome for motorcycle touring. And they last quite a long time, but after 8 years, the ankle height style have given up the ghost and we're going to replace them this year. They're available under the Apparel tab

Prescriptions – Lots of riders keep a separate stash of meds with their gear so they won’t have to remember to pack it each time for the day to day arsenal. But meds have a way of expiring. If you’re transferring meds, be sure to note the expiration dates onto whatever containers your storing them in for motorcycle travel and update as needed.

EpiPens – Ditto. An expired EpiPen may not have the get up and go you need if you suffer a bee sting in the neck on an upcoming ride. Bite the bullet and get a new one. Most EpiPens have an 18 month expiration date, which means you can get a new one in April of this year and have it last through September of next year. That’s two riding seasons.

Eye Drops and Allergy medicines – These over-the-counter items are essential to staying safe if you suffer from severe allergies or dry eyes. And most have expiration dates attached so heed the number.

Spare Bulbs – If you’re carrying spare bulbs we salute you. But do they work? Only one way to find out. Plug ‘em in on the bike and check. And be sure not to handle them, especially the headlight bulb, with your bare fingers, seeing to it that you don’t get any hand oil on the lamps.

Zip Loc Bags – They come in handy for a number of things and you just never know when you’ll need one. But seriously, whether you ride pavement and/or off-road, replace the spares annually as they tend to weaken from being bumped around in your gear bags.

Rags – Carrying a rag or two in a Zip Loc bag makes it handy to do chain maintenance and other greasy chores on the road. Then of course you stuff it back in the Zip Loc. Do that a few times and you’ve got a greasy rag in tow. Replace with a clean one.

Service gloves – Smart riders carry a separate set of gloves just for servicing the bike on the road. Whether it’s a level one or two service you perform in Timbuktu, or a simple airing up of the tires, these are worth storing. But, like the rags, they build up grime and need to be cleaned up now and then.