18th April 2013 - Ready for the off

Been an up and down day. Packed the bike properly for the first time and despite dry runs back home the extras I have bought here - tyre pump, tarpaulin, Oil & Coolant, etc - added up to a bit more than I thought so been a bit of a squeeze.


The kitchen sink is in the other pannier...

 

Weather too has caused more concern - gone today from 1 deg C to 23 deg through bright sunshine to incredible thunderstorms and strong winds.

On the up-side my bike is now wonderfully decorated with stickers supplied by my two lovely grand-daughters and applied by my eldest, Darcy - hey, everyone should have butterflies and "Ben Elf & Princess Holly" on their tank!

Been for a final wander round this amazingly beautiful spot - though not too far given some of the tracks around here -and ready to set off tomorrow come rain or shine...



A biro - oh and a black bear track???

17th April 2013 - Beaverton, Ontario

A slight blip..........

I’ve been a bit lacking in updates. Initially was very busy working my way through a stack of jobs I wanted to get finished before I left – driven, I admit, by pure guilt at having the opportunity to undertake such a great trip. BUT, then, when I took my bike over to the shippers, which was very enjoyable and great fun packing it and which should have been a significant milestone in the trip process I was asked if I had my "EPA".

 I didn’t know what EPA meant never mind “have one”!!! Apparently I needed permission – in advance – from the US Environmental  Protection Agency to take a non USA Standard vehicle into the States. I am really embarrassed as I have been dreaming of the trip for years, researching for a long time and planning for months and not once did anyone I spoke to mention this nor did I discover it.

 I started the process straight away and tried to call the right department to see if I could facilitate the process at all and got what we would call a real “jobs worth” ie “it will take as long as it takes depending on the number of calls upon our services etc etc” Left that as I could see it was going to be counterproductive. Was very embarrassed as so many people wishing me well and didn’t fancy saying well actually can’t get into the States. However I rang again last Friday and a different guy in every sense of the word said my approval was completed and just waiting for a signature so was sure I would have it by time I planned to start  this Friday.

It came through last night - so all on again!

Had a relaxing day today getting over flight and time difference and different pace.

Lyndsay, Reece and Darcy's place is not a bad base to start from.......

 



 View of their back yard.....

15th April 2013 - Arrival in Canada

Well, it is here - or rather I am -  here in Beaverton, Ontario having arrived in Toronto on a Air Transat flight with my bike on the same aircraft! Amazing!  

Took a while to clear it through customs etc but everyone really pleasant and helpful and was on road to my daughter Lyndsay's and son-in-law Reece's by 7pm just as it turned dark.

All didn't quite go to plan as I should have had crated bike taken to my agents depot to unpack and leave crate ready for return journey but the Canadian Customs Officer, a comfortably built lady officer totally stripped the case and bike before clearing it. The bike was fine, it had been packed wonderfully by Dave at James Cargo but the crate was totally zapped!

All strapped down.

Thank goodness for bubblewrap. 





Honda make better bikes but apparently BMW make better boxes

Can't believe the interest the bike generated in the customs warehouse where they actually allowed Reece and I in to put the bike together for the road for me to drive it out. They really hadn't seen to many Pans and being sooo different to the Harleys they are used to meant they bombarded us with questions and all took lots of photos - quite exciting really.

Number 5 - In perspective . . .

I’m feeling more reassured now, have seen James Cargo – the freight company I admit I hadn’t heard of before they were recommended to me and who are now shipping my bike – featured in several articles on “adventure motorcycling” in the big bike magazines. Feel a bit foolish too I guess recalling the naive questions I asked Dave at James Cargo and the “it’s no big deal” way he dealt with them.

And a road trip like this really is “no big deal. As one contributor put it, it’s really is like a long commute. Ok perhaps several hundred, possible thousands of the types of commutes I’ve made so far – all put together but as also said by someone else there must be an added thrill doing it on the bike I have used for those commutes.



My first, and hopefully last, 3 wheeler!


I have, as you might imagine, done a lot of reading about the trip and I am humbled by some of those who have undertaken all or part of it before me.  The real star and my main inspiration must be Ted Simon who wrote Jupiter’s Travels. He did his first round the world solo motorcycle trip in 1974 – well before lap tops, mobile phones and film crews in back up 4 x4s.  What’s more, he did it again in 2001 at the age of 69 just to see what had changed in the places he had visited the first time. I’ve just read about Simon Gandolfi who in 2006 at the age of 73 set of on an epic journey from Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico to Ushuaia, Terra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of the Americas – some 16,000 miles.  He did it on a 125cc Honda – that’s 10 times smaller than my bike. I know size isn’t everything but really . . .  You noticed the theme yet, my subconscious concerns about my advancing years – well I did start young!

  When asked for advice for riders who feel “too old” to make their dream trip he said “You’re never too old to be a teenager. But if you are so old you think your balance isn’t up to it – buy a Morgan 3 Wheeler”.      Im not ready for that Morgan yet.   

Gandolfi wrote a book called Old Man on a Bike – so there’s the title of any literary aspirations I may have gone any way!

And just to move away from that group of grumpy old men who were possible partially motivated by a kick up the backside from a spouse equally eager for a “bit of peace and space”, lets mention Peggy Thomas who at the age of 26, started out from Liverpool, England in 1951 on her new BSA Bantam and rode over 14,000 miles across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

My 7991 miles should be a walk in the park . .  .

Number 4

Beginning to get slightly apprehensive. The more you read around the trip the more the issues which can arise seem to come along. At the moment it's wind! Just re-read part of Billy Connolly's Route 66 and he refers to the strong sidewinds but the more dramatic - and concerning - images have been those of the dustbowl in Oklahoma. That was  80 years ago and things have changed on the land  but surely the wind hasn't!!

Number 3

Started some physical preparation now though the paperwork and planning still go on. Sorted electrical connections for all the equipment I'll need and there is so much of it - satnav, phone, netbook, camera, tyre pump.... it goes on. Trouble is will I ever get it back together again.

Number 2

Well, decision made about the  transport. Going to take my own bike and found a company who will airfreight it out to Toronto for me. All insurances organised.  Basic route to firm up.