If you’ve been riding for any length of time, chances are good that you already know certain things are going to wear out on your bike. The general rule is, the more you ride, the more frequently you need to replace things like tires, air filters, chains and sprockets, brake pads, and so on. When you’re doing an epically long trip, you’re probably going to go through tires more quickly—it's just math.
Thus, we come to the most recent chapter of the Itchy Boots Project Alaska saga. If you haven’t been following along, you should—it's a lot of fun. For those unfamiliar, Noraly (the vlogger behind the Itchy Boots channel) is riding her Honda CRF300L Rally from Ecuador up to Alaska. (As a result, the bike is also named Alaska, so if you hear her referring to what sounds like a person by that name, it’s her bike.)
She’s made it to the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, and starts off the morning in La Paz, where it’s time to get another set of new tires. One of the reasons to choose a bike like the CRF300L Rally for a global adventure is parts availability, which should (at least theoretically) be a bit easier. Unfortunately, as Noraly explains, the past few times she’s needed parts, it’s been more difficult than expected.
As a result, a couple tire changes ago, she ended up with a rear tire that was much better suited to asphalt than all the dirt riding she regularly does. However, when faced with a choice between not changing a tire that really needs it, and ending up with a tire that’s not exactly what you want for where you’ll be riding—well, you can guess what she chose. Even if it wasn’t her first choice, her riding skills were up to the task, and she made it over her chosen routes until the next tire change.
That tire change ended up with some softer rubber than she would have liked—but at least it was better suited to dirt. As you can see in the video, though, it’s definitely time for new rubber. These tires probably won’t make it the remaining 2,000 kilometers (about 1,243 miles) to the U.S. border. (She’s apparently already ordered a new set of tires once she crosses, and was able to get exactly what she wanted.)
Air filter and Maxxis Desert tires installed, and IB starts riding the 300+ kilometers to Loreto. There’s some gorgeous desert scenery, including some local wildlife. If you’re looking for inspiration to get out and take your own journey, you could do a lot worse than keeping an Itchy Boots video in your queue.
