Quotes, Clips and Canada

I'll start off with this:

 “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” - Lao Tzu

I'm not certain if i'm a good traveler or not... But i always try to stay with the no fixed plans. With this I start, by changing my departure date.

With the weather as unpredictable as it is in North East Canada (Labrador and Newfoundland) it can easily be a blizzard in May, or much above seasonal.  Looking at the historical data of my planned route, it shows that not only would it be slightly dangerous to go in late may by motorcycle but almost certainly suicidal with Snow and the average tempurature.  Example in June 28,1980 there was 11 inches of snow. 

I'm all for adventure, but I do want to ride and somewhat enjoy myself on the journey.  Not everything in life needs to be extremely difficult.  I don't fear snow nor freezing temperatures, the wet rains or the fog but i somewhat dislike pain a great deal..

If there are any Asshats out there who think's I'm a wuss for changing my plans, then I got a message for you.  My trip, My safety, My rules.  Anyone thinks it's easy, you try it yourself... you finance, you become the mechanic, you do it by yourself, for yourself... then see what you think.

The date has been changed to July (due to work scheduling), so now i shouldn't worry about the snow so much.  I may not see the Icebergs and Whales bumping uglies, but should be moderately safer.

I've tested out my GoPro Hero 2 camera mounted on my helmet. Here's a small clip.  I say small because 1 hour of video @ 720p is 4 gig of data.  that's the smallest format the camera takes. Crazy!  I'll have to either have a ton of Memory sticks or put the camera in TimeLapse mode.

out of 4 gigs (1 hour) I took a short 3 minute video into 5 Megs, made it even smaller.  The quality isn't great, but it does show what I see and hear.  The camera is in a waterproof sealed case, i'm surprised it picked up the motor sound so well.

no more planning.  I've got a date (sorta), I have my route (approximately) so now it's time to prepare.  reminder; bring shovel for snow DEET bugspray for the blackflies.

Warped Perspective

The picture of Beast's behind is a little... skewed.  Today I made a purchase which may or may not have been a good one.  I went out and bought a GoPro hero 2 today.  what an Unbelievable little camera. I hope that it will be able to document part of my trip.  I doubt I could document all of it as it would be about 1.6 terabytes of video.  Maybe some timelapse... Maybe some 'montages'.  Who knows.

Looking at the weather though, I think I may have to invest into some warmer gear.

As it is still snowing and departure date is in less than a month, I've decided to throw the plans up in the air again and just focus on preparation.  If the weather is too harsh up north, I will head south... or West... or East.

Guess I'll just play it by ear.

Where did the time go?

As you may have noticed, I didn't go to Newfoundland last year (2011).

last year was a whirlwind of activity in life.  some good, some bad, some ugly.  Let's just say I wasn't really ready mentally, physically or emotionally to take on another trip.  I had planned on going but due to a surgery I had been waiting over 2 years for.  I had a sublingual gland removed due to a stone stuck in the saliva duct.  This caused great pain over the years.  The earliest recollection i have with a saliva blockage was when I was 14. 

I think it was good I didn't go last year.  I wasn't ready. Beast wasn't ready.

Beast is getting a massage at the shop as I type this and I'm now trying to get over an allergic reaction to anti-smoking meds.  I don't know which is worse... the smoking or the allergy.

Either way, the trip is this year.  We've had essentially summer weather already in Ottawa Canada and I am hoping the weather will follow me on my adventure, as I hope you do too.

Mentally I am prepared for this. Physically... well, I'm working on it.  Emotionally... hah. who am i kidding.

As usual, I won't be planning much and hoping to find things along the way.  This is what makes it an adventure!

My journey this year will start very early.  So early in fact that there is normally snow on the road I will be travelling.  SNOW.  I just verified the  highway 389 road conditions and it states "Snow covered".

So with that in mind, I will not plan.  I will prepare. I will adjust.

Here's that route again: 2012 Newfoundland route

I have approximately 6500 KM ... 4000 miles to travel.  It doesn't seem much but keep in mind, I will be fighting possible snow, dodging moose and who knows what else is up there.

I secured three weeks away from work to make this happen.  I have four weeks to departure time. One month.

I think I am a little bit masochistic... that, or 'm trying to prove something to myself and I'm not sure what it is yet.

I almost forgot to add that for the most part of the trip there won't even be cell service.  There may be spotted internet at a few points, but i'm not counting on it.

I'm considering buying a few more gadgets to enhance my experience.

A helmet camera such as a GoPro and possibly a SPOT locator in case I need to be medivac'd out via chopper.

I figure that if I cannot take you along with me through a daily blog, perhaps I can bring my adventure back to you.

Finding New Land

Oddly, I haven't written anything in a while.  haven't ridden in a while either.odd.
I do plan on finding new land to lay some tracks, figuratively as well as literally.
With Beast being ignored over winter and since my last trip, it's rightly time to put Beast back in action.  I think it's hungry.  Everytime i start it, it lurches as it knows it needs to be someplace else.  uncanny.

So far i've cleaned it up a bit (dusted the windscreen), did a 'tune up', got a new speedo cable, spark plug and adjusted the valves.  I'm hoping the added moose racing hand guards will help with the front end wobble, and now it's almost road worthy.

I say almost because the rear shock on the bike is done.  finished.  I suspect strongly it broke along the trip, either near the beginning of it or right before.  I think this was a huge factor in the handling characteristics of the bike and a possible contributing factor to my near death wobbles.

I've ordered a new high performance custom shock for Beast.  From all accounts, this is one of 'THE' shocks to use on a KLR650.

Beast will be happy.

I will also be happy because I am not planning this year's trip much.  I'll have to truly go with the flow and expect worst case scenarios.

Here's what i've planned so far:

Womper's 2011 route

Now with that out of the way, the planning phase is pretty much over. I just need to find out when I can book vacation and i just pack up and go.  I've already decided that the tent and sleeping back stays, but the cooking gear can stay at home.  So will the majority of tools.  I've always brought too much.  This time the tools will be light.

• duct tape
• electrical tape
• spare fuses
• wire
• zip ties
• selected socket sizes
• hex key set
• spare tubes, spoons, patch kit and pump

If it needs more than that, i probably can't fix it, or shouldn't fix it to make it worse. heh.

Oh ya, to the dude in Lowes in Yuma Arizona.  Yes they make Metal Zip Ties.  they didn't stop making them in the 70s.  if that was your day job, you might want to get re-educated so that you don't spew more ignorance over your company's name.