Today started with coffee and then a session of Yoga on the Beach.

I think this was the first time I’ve taken a yoga class outside. Being on the beach was pretty cool. The classes are held at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. The price of the class includes entry into the park for the day (keep your receipt, you’ll need it for re-entry to the park). There is a class everyday, weather permitting. Today’s class was referred to as Yin yoga, consisting of a series of more passive relaxation poses. Yin yoga classes are on Thursday while more energetic classes are held other days of the week.

Breakfast was at Harpoon Harry’s and then I returned to the beach at the Fort to swim. We didn’t go out last night for dinner, instead just socializing with the neighbors and eating in. I went for a short bike ride last night after the sun went down when it was cooler. That was fun.

Gear Update

Back at the house, I did some laundry and looked over my gear to see how it’s holding up. There were a few items that are showing signs of use.

Recall, I purchased Bestem Saddlebag liners from Amazon ($48/pr) and used them for all my trips last year as well as using them for this trip. The waterproof coating on the inside of one of the bags is ripping.

I think this happened because the zipper from my laptop case ( a Case Logic’ sculpted sleeve) rubbed against it, eventually causing a tear. Since the BMW side cases are pretty much watertight, I’m not too worried about the contents of the bag getting wet.

The bigger issue I’m having with the Bestem liners is with the zippers. On each bag, there seems to be one zipper (of the two) doesn’t work well because they can’t get past a certain point. I’ve adapted by using the better functioning zipper for each bag. However, on one of the liners, the zipper pull of the better functioning zipper broke. I honestly can’t recommend these liners because the zippers are not durable.

The BMW tank bag I purchased for last year’s trips is starting rip along one of the seams in front of the lid, or top section.

The likely reason for the tear is overloading the bag. 😦 I brought along some Butler maps and stuffed many of them into the top section’s inside facing pocket. The SLR camera sits along the inside edge under that part of the bag and together with the extra width of the maps, there was too much pressure on the seam.

I’m going to try to avoid overloading the tank bag and get it repaired when I return to Seattle. I will also look at replacing the side case liner bags with a different brand then.