Today was the last day to put it all together.

I have a LIST of things to take that I have developed over the years and I find if I stick to the list I only have a few surprises . If I don't use the list I will take too much stuff and often forget important things. This list has evolved over the years as I have added more tech toys that need chargers of all shapes and sizes, and I now have a bike with a chain that needs kerosene and oil to lubricate every 1000 Km.

As of 2:00pm everything is on the bike. All I need is a tank of gas and I will be on my way

This will be a trip without the pressures of returning to work. I have been retired for four months and am starting to understand that I am not on a long vacation. So I have a route set on my Garmin GPS that includes many roads I have ridden by in the past as there was no time to ride them, or the bike I had at the time was not capable of handling the gravel. I now have the time, and I have a motorcycle that works well on pavement as well as gravel.

I have always owned Honda Goldwings; a 1984 GL1200,a 1993 GL1500 and a 2001 GL1800. They are amazing bikes and are the best for long distance comfortable trips on paved roads. I have ridden in all provinces and territories in Canada on Goldwings including several gravel roads in the Yukon and Alaska, but it isn't an easy way to spend a day. The ride to the Arctic Circle in 2006 was the time I decided I needed a different kind of bike to allow me more access to all types of roads. I traded in the 2001 GoldWing for a 2007 Suzuki DL650 Vstrom and actually received some money in return. It has been a year of preparing the bike for this ride and it has been a lot of fun.