A tank of gas and I'm good to go - more or less.....

I had the Feej serviced today at MacLean Sports: new tires, oil and filter (plus a "filter to go" in my sidecase), top case lock installed, fluid levels checked and changed as required, lights and switches checked, frame sliders installed, throttle cable adjusted, and everything generally battened down for The Trip. Oh, and a new ignition switch was installed under the ignition switch recall. Unfortunately, the triple-tree mounting kit hasn't arrived yet from Motorcycle Larry so I can't install and test run the Zumo. It works on the patio but .... I created a route on my computer for Day One which showed mileage of 921 km. When I transferred the route to the gps unit, it lost 210 km in the transfer. Oops! must be one of those known bugs.

Big thanks to Andy who does my service work. He's my Main Man at MacLeans! But I also have to thank Bob & Kevin in the Service Department for humouring me ;-) And, of course, Jamie, who sold me the Feej in the first place and Brent, the "paper guy"!

ps - a note about that planned 900 km first day ....
I did a little "lunch ride" with Mark yesterday to Comeau's in Pennfield. It was 311 km round trip; the ride home via Lawrence Station was just over 1.5 hours in the saddle. I was very happy and relieved to dismount from my beautiful bike when we finally got home! I really need to get some bike butt built up. Try saying THAT 3 times quickly!

I finally told my mom .....

I hate to admit to this but my mom was the last to find out I'm making this ride. She thinks I get too much exercise (and the dogs don't need any more exercise than a couple of walks a week). She definitely worries about me on The Bike. I asked John his opinion of when I should tell Mom and he thought that when we get to Edmundston would be good. I HAD considered just checking in with her every few days and not letting on that I wasn't sofa surfing at Charlotte Street. Tell her when we get back. Like the US military: don't ask, don't tell.

I told her Sunday evening after dinner. I started out with: "Mom, I'm going on a little trip with my bike". My sister, still at the table, said "Nooooooo". John, putting dishes in the sink, said: "Oh noooooooo". I was committed - there was no going back. Mom kind of moaned "Oh Mary Ellen" and I was too nervous to remember now what she said next other than, perhaps, "where are you going?" I told her it was cross-country. "How FAR across the country?". "All the way...to BC" I reply. She moaned again; well, actually it might have been more like a whimper. I assured her - a couple of times - that I was going with Jim. As if that was going to keep me particularly safe. At any rate, she was quickly off on another subject leaving me to think: " Gosh, that went very well".

My sister's philosophy is that (this is so huge) it's going to take her awhile to process it. I talked to Mom on Tuesday evening and she asked me if I was nervous. I admitted that "yes, I have a healthy bit of fear and respect for my bike and riding" and I assured her I wouldn't attempt to keep up with Jim if he goes too fast. She pointed out that she knows I'm sensible and won't do anything foolish (not intentionally anyway). She then asked: "Are you nervous about the H1N1?" Huh?! I opined that the Swine Flu was well past but she insisted that I keep my hands washed. I assured her (OR nurse that I am) that I'm the Queen of Clean. She seems to be processing the whole thing quite well ;-)

Sightseeing on the way:
We were going to travel with Tom and Pam who live in Ripley, Huron-Kinloss, ON. They have a great route all planned out but they're riding across N Dakota and I'd like to ride through the Badlands of S Dakota and see Mt Rushmore. They've been there, done that. We WILL plan to meet up with them on Day 3 at Marquette, Michigan, and then probably part ways as we make our way south. It would be fun to meet up with them again around Red Lodge, Montana, and ride Beartooth Pass with them. Yes, the Pass may be impassable because of snow. Then it's on to Yellowstone Park.

We have to be in Calgary by June 13th which, if we leave on the 4th or 5th, should give us some wiggle room with respect to weather days. Getting caught in the rain is one thing; deliberately riding into it is something else again. Jim will leave his bike at a friend's and on Sunday the 14th he'll hop a plane home to Freddy. His daughter's high school graduation prom is on the 15th and her graduation ceremony is on the 18th. He'll fly back to Calgary on the 19th with his wife, Trish. Here's where the plan is a little loose - again. Stay tuned .....

T minus 19 - or close to it

Today, I took my first 'longish' ride of 2009 to Nackawic with Jim's daughter, Grace - another sportbike enthusiast. We had lunch at Acorn's on the highway at Kings Landing and came home via Lake George and Harvey. It was sunny and 16 very pleasant degrees when we left at 1100h ; 20 degrees when we got home at 1430h. I wore my full riding suit sans fleece liner and was comfortable riding but WARM when we stopped or slowed down in traffic. I installed a Crampbuster at Nackawic and found out it works great! At least for the little bit I used it on the ride back to the city. It doesn't take long for my little hand to feel numb from gripping the throttle.
I need a few more rides in before Jim and I leave on our Big Adventure on June 4th or 5th.

Trip Preparations
I have a few installations to be done: new tires, a Fuze Block (a power bar for a MC) and a Garmin Zumo 660 (MC gps). The latter is a VERY new release and it's known to have bugs but I'm optimistic mine is bug-free! And my bike needs servicing.

I'll take my iPod but won't be listening to it on the road. I won't have it, my phone nor the gps connected to in-helmet headphones or speaker. Jim and I will use the original low-tech communications system: hand signals. At Nakusp, there will be a Vintage Riders Breakfast. The sole criterion to qualify for VR status is minimum age of 50. Jim could give those guys lessons on being a "vintage rider". With the exception of my gps, there are no ”farkles” on our bikes!

I finally have waterproof boots and now need just a pair of Canadian Tire rubber gloves to cover my leather ones. On the Cabot Trail and Gaspe rides, we/I rode home in pouring rain and my boots were my weakest link. Within minutes, my feet were sloshing around - but my body heat kept the water warm :) The only thing to test now is riding with my topcase. It's additional topheavy weight that I really don't need. The FJR's 'wet weight' is about 640 lbs. Add me in my ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time), sidecases AND topcase.... This is really only (potentially) a problem when I'm stopped so I guess the key is to just RIDE!

Our plans are pretty loosey goosey right now. All we know for sure is: Day One to Manotick (921 kms - ouch) and Day Two to Sault Ste Marie (just < 900kms). I'll be calling home every day and will attempt to maintain this blog. I'll also be checking my e-mail regularly. That's The Plan. The Reality may look quite different - especially if we have too many 500-mile days. Stay tuned ....