Archive for March, 2013

Advance expenses

Saturday, 23rd March 2013; 2:04 pm

Not much to report, just that I’ve made the last of my pre-ride expenditures.

I’ve purchased reserved tickets on both ferries: the Badger to get me to Wisconsin and back, and the Isle Royale Queen IV to get me to the island and back. The scooter needed a ticket to ride with me on the first of those. The cost of these was $340, a substantial chunk of my budget for the trip.

I’ve also just had the scooter fixed and serviced. He needed a new front brake line, rear tire, belt and rollers, and battery. All that (and the regular maintenance done while he was in for repairs) set me back another $360, but I don’t count that as part of the cost of the trip, because I’d be spending that money regardless. The additional mileage I’ve put on the scooter from the previous years’ trips made some of the replacement parts necessary a bit sooner (at the beginning the year instead of the end), but the road trips have only been about 1/4 of my total miles.

All that’s left for me to spend is the money I’ll spend during the trips: fuel for the scooter ($100 budgeted for both rides combined), food for me ($300), and a few incidentals along the way, such as doing laundry and a few park/camping fees that I can’t pay in advance.