Day 2 - Score 100

Well, if I had to score my first full day on the road, it gets a solid 100....

+ 113... which is the max air temperature for the day hhhhot. (engine temp reading was waaay higher.. will google that to see if it's an issue)

- 37.... for forgetting to charge the camera battery! (apparently I can't remember everything.. :)

+ 22 ... for starting the day with a full english breakfast at my fav B&B (chez Leanne n Jay!)

- 18 ... for staying in a hotel (I guess I'll start wild camping tomorrow....)

+ 45... for riding the Northern Cascade Highway 20 from Sedro Wooly to Winthrop ... it's going on my favourite roads in the world list for the twisties and breath taking views at Washington Pass

-16... for not riding the rest of it from Winthrop to Kettle Falls

+ 30... for the lovely people I met today... John and Hans in a Spokane McD's (I was there for the wifi, not a Big Mac) who chatted bikes and tech and kindly helped me try to find a place to sleep... and for the crazy folks at my hotel who just invited me to play botchie (in the dark) with them.... people are good.

 

The bike is handling pretty well with the kitchen sink I'm carrying. I'm getting used to the weight and only had one holy sh!t moment going down a steepish gravel road to a campground. All good though, a wobble and recover and colourful language in the helmet. Airing up the tires this morning definitely helped (thanks Jay!) and as soon as I have an extra set of hands I'll stiffen the rear suspension.

My original thought was to stay in Grand Coulee and so it's good progress to have made it all the way to Spokane. I have a date with a new motorcycle jacket and riding buddy in Rigby ID on Tuesday and don't want to be late. I did learn a (possibly obvious) lesson about campgrounds, summer holidays and long weekends...near larger centres there are NO available campsites! In the future, I'll stick to smaller towns and random wild places for camping.

Looking forward to a super early start tomorrow to catch some cooler temperatures.

Peace,

Jen-o'theroad

ps. if you added the score and are perturbed it doesn't equal 100... seriously, you need a holiday. ;)

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"The" Day!

Well, today is the day!!

Years of dreaming, months of planning, weeks of sorting/packing/preparing, days of last minute details, all paying off as today I rode my fully loaded bike out of my garage and turned south leaving behind all that my life has been. My riding might be mostly solo but my life is definitely not. I am surrounded by countless generous, supportive people who without their provoking and encouraging words, I would not be embarking on this great adventure.

Yes I have a lot of stuff! I am almost certain I'll even need it sometime in the next 6-8 weeks as I traverse states, provinces and climates.

Here is my heartfelt thanks to a few of the many angels who helped me in my final preparations...

My packing/cleaning angels, Tam and Laurens, who so generously spent 2 sweaty hours finishing the apartment before (ok, almost before) my tenant arrived! Laurens is also the generous soul who is caring for my (possibly spoiled) cat, Zoe while I wander.

 

Jay who met me at my apartment for some 'leaving' pics, provided me a Ducati escort on my 45 minute 'shake down' ride from Vancouver to White Rock... oh, and who served up my first 'travelling' beer upon arrival!

 

Leanne who has been an instigator/accomplice on many an adventure for more years than I can count and so creatively met my 'last supper' request of Canadian with delish tourtiere!

 

Tomorrow, I am up early and across the boarder headed for a rendezvous outside Yellowstone in a few days time. My intended route will take me through the Northern Cascades along Hwy 20, dropping down to a little freeway time to Missoula and then south on secondary roads to Rigby ID.

Hopefully the weather is a little cooler in the high mountains... and no, I'm not complaining about summer! :)

 

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Welcome the first post of my blog!

Part travel blog, part ride report, part journal, part soul journey, I hope to share both the trials and joys of an extended motorcycle adventure as well as insights and revelations that arise from a respite from conventional daily life.   This blog is a way for me to document and share my experiences over the course of the next three months as I take a leave from my work, home and community to... wander and wonder.  

I have been asked by many ‘what’s my plan?’ and there is a strong social compulsion to have one... "travel SE Asia"... "volunteer in Africa"... "hike the Camino"... It is no small feat for me to respond "I don't really have one". Well, I do, but my plan is much less a goal to be crossed off a list than it is an experience of life intended to indelibly shape who I am.  By nature and trade I am a planner, so when ultimately compelled to articulate a plan for this adventure it is simply "to be present".

Yes, that's it.  To be truly and fully IN this present moment.  To let go of stories of the past, schemes of the future, analyzing, defining, figuring things out and drawing conclusions and to welcome in the completeness of this moment.  To embrace adventure one step at a time and allow each new moment to arise organically from the previous.  For adventure to grow as a branches of a tree, each starting as a bud, reaching toward the sun as it fully forms contributing essential nutrients to the whole.

In short, to more consciously and fully live the influences that have been actively shaping and forming my life and way of being.  To let go of the conventional structure of the life I have crafted to allow these powerful influences to seep, flow, wash and even crash over my every day existence. 
 

That’s not to say I’ll be directionless.  Presently my intentions for the first few weeks are to head north (Yukon/Alaska) via east (Wyoming/Montana/Alberta).  For me, true freedom and expression of presence comes in letting go of attachment to things happening any particular way; to hold intentions lightly and let loose the result.  Satisfaction will come in cultivating spaciousness to linger in places and with people; to hear the stories of each and share my in turn.  

...and to explore a path beyond the road.



An invitation to explore powerful influences that continue to shaped my life:
Vipassana Meditation
The Centre for Nonviolent Communication
Eric Bowers - Road to Compassion
Sarah Payton - Empathy Brain
Animas Valley Institute - Soul Craft