Ready–set–uh….hang on a sec….

 

So. I am heading off on my motorcycle on a 25 or 28 day vagabond adventure across Canada and into the Rockies.

With a tent. And a sleeping bag. And a 1.5 litre camp-stove. Oh yeah – and a really big – really sharp knife. ‘Cause ya’ just never know, right. I might need to carve an S.O.S out of a really big tree. Or something.                                         

   I also have a first aid kit. And a candle lantern.  And some home-made fire-starter. And a magnesium striker. Ooooohhh. Aaaahhhhh.

Get the feeling that I might be in for a surprise or two? Yes. So do I. But then I think, that, more than anything, is what has me so stoked about this trip. I am going alone and on a motorcycle. You can really only be so prepared, right. I can only pack and take so much with me. After that, the rest is up to the universe. Or fate. Or, in my case – my higher power (which used to be an imaginary hamster named Frank, and then a cartoon character famous for exclaiming ‘Narf!’ - but that is a tale for another day).

I truly have no idea of what to expect. Some seasoned riders have warned me of snow in the passes. Wildlife (some REALLY BIG wildlife) everywhere. Dangerous curves. Rock slides. Foul weather. Freezing temperatures. Severe injury in remote areas. Death.

No references to inbred, banjo-playin’, ‘shine-swillin’ mountain folk – so I can allay that fear.

I have an idea of some of the places that I want to go. And some of the things that I want to see. The Kootenay’s. Radium Hot Springs. Columbia Lake. White Swan Lake. Kicking Horse Pass. Mount Robson. Mystic Beach. Toad Rock. East Hastings. Portland Hotel Society. MAP. Insite.

And I have a loose itinerary of a sort. I leave Ottawa on June 1st. I have to be in Calgary on the 6th because I have a speaking engagement on the 7th. From there on out, there is no real plan, and no set schedule.

I feel relaxed just typing that. No real plan. No set schedule. Just point my front tire and follow where it leads me. That sounds pretty darned good.

It’s April 24th and snowing in Ottawa…….

…….and so the journey continues.

Travel well friends.