Day 1 – I’m Going (To Ottawa)

The moment of truth, getting rolling with the motorcycle and a lot of gear. There’s lots of advice on how to pack light and pack better but most of it doesn’t apply to someone doing it solo.

Tents are good for 2+ people, cooking gear for 4+, axe/saw, tools for 8+ people, but being solo I have to carry everything myself! It did turn out okay, the BMW is a well balanced machine and as long as it’s moving it feels “light”. Stop, and gravity takes advantage of the smallest bit of personal imbalance and turns it into an accelerating mass headed for the dirt.

I had one close call which I’ll include in the daily recap video, realization that no matter how well I ride and alert I am, other people’s mistakes can be quite consequential. tl;dr Stay away from people tail gating because they cause situations that drag in other people.

The ride to Odessa for the “Best Club Sandwhich” was uneventful except the above and an inexplicable 51 minute delay that had me boiling in my suit stuck behind someone riding their brake. I was late, Stephane waited and took the wonderful cover picture for this blog.

I continued to Ottawa to stay with Lynda, an old co-worker (from the day I was hired in 1991), and had a lovely night of food, drink and conversation.