When gear is collected in the study room, maps are strewn over the floor, and fluid levels and tires on the bike are checked, then it is a sign that something is going to happen. And indeed it is. After two years of motorcycling absence because of surgeries and other setbacks the time has come once again to roll out of the garage, turn the front wheel West, and hit the road. The plan is to travel to the Great Lakes, follow the border to Canada and end in Vancouver, BC to meet with my brother in law and friends to spend some time on bikes in BC and AB, perhaps cross over to the USA, visiting MT, ID, OR, and WA, before returning to Vancouver, BC. Then it will be time for me to turn East again, following the loneliest road in the US, Hwy 50, one of the earliest pioneer traveling routes in the US. Heading west to east, one can travel back in history from the cutting-edge high tech of contemporary Silicon Valley, across the Wild West frontier of the mid-1800s, and through lands the likes of Daniel Boone and countless others pioneered in the 1700s, before arriving at the Atlantic Ocean near some of the oldest and best-preserved colonial-era landscapes in the United States. That's at least is the plan, but as always I'm pretty flexible when it comes to those things and changes are not unknown. Till then, there is still some more gear to prepare, pack, and strap to the bike.
And yes, my new gear, Klim pants and jacket, vented socks, and tech shirts are working great in every weather thus far. This trip will be the ultimate test for a bigger trip next year, but I'm confident all will work just fine and as expected. So seven times more "good night", and then I'm off.
"Traveling allows you to become so many different versions of yourself.", unkown
