Last week for preparations!

It has been a bloody hot last few days here, a fast forward into summer weather. Meanwhile in the eastern part of the country, specifically Nfld, they had a chance of snow showers today and expect below average temperatures for the month of June!

Pat tried out the cot he bought (I was willing but the second one was busted when we opened the box) He said it was not very comfortable and noisy when moving position and returned them shortly after.

He then purchased us a set of light air mattresses that we can put above our current self-inflating 2 inch sleeping pads. We tried these one night in our bedroom and although they too are a tad noisy when moving around on them, they did provide some degree of comfort. We figure in the tent we can put our pads and mattresses side by side and prevent them from being so wobbly.

The crappy cots that were returned

The camping mat or air mattress(es) Pat bought

I also have new gloves! The ones I had last year I ended up returning because of the inferior lining. When my hands were wet with sweat or rain, I had trouble getting them into or out of the gloves. The lining ended up getting all stuck up inside the fingers, very frustrating. Good thing I brought a back-up pair last year. These Gore-Tex gloves by Stella are designed for all weather riding. They also have a finger-bridge to prevent finger separation and reduce twisting in the event of a slide (don't want to even think about that, but good to know).

They cost a few dollars more than I was planning to spend but I chalked it up to a Mother's Day gift :)

 

 

This year for the first time, we have a Blue Tooth headset system for our helmets. Up to now we have relied on hand signals, pulling over and telepathy to communicate but we are now able to talk back and forth. Tried it out in the house but I imagine it won't take long to get the hang of the switches and volume (and how to tune out the other when you wish to!)  Could be some interference with the high level of noise we get from our style of helmet (more dirt bike than road cruising style).

 

 

We'll now be able to communicate in style!

 

 

Sue's bike with the rear and side cases attached. Lookin`good!



 

Pat has been working like a dog the last while getting not just our two bikes ready for this trip but his first VRRA (Vintage Road Racing Assoc) event is this coming weekend at Shannonville. He has had to make sure the Norton is up to snuff while having our trip prep done and packed so he can have a smooth transition from Sunday evening on his return from Shannonville to our departure the next day at approx. 11 a.m.

 

 

 

A pic of Pat racing on his Norton in 2015

 

 

For our two KLR's, he replaced the 15" teeth sprocket to 16" which will mean smoother highway driving. He also checked all the brakes (clippers, pads, cleaned and greased the sliders), electrical connections, fluids, tires and pressure, etc. He has already loaded the equipment and tools he will need for this trip in the side cases of his KLR.

 

 

Pat's 2009 and my 2002 KLR ready to roll in the garage

 

Our camping gear is almost ready. Need to purchase a one burner stove for our campsite. Using the same cooking grill as before and we can pick up charcoal as we need it. We set up the tent today to inspect it and make sure no holes where the bugs can get in!!

 

Our lists of things to do this coming week keeps growing! Been through this a few times now so I am confident that all will be in place for one week from now!

 





3 weeks to go!

I can't believe, here it is the middle of May and we have snow showers on and off today! We leave 3 weeks from tomorrow and I sure as hell hope it warms up big time before and definitely by then! I bought some jeans of the stretchy kind that I can wear my tights under and not feel too constricted. Already thinking about layers of clothing to pack that will take up as little space as possible. 

We went to the sale at Royal Distributing last month and bought 2 new front tires and 2 Frog Tog jackets. Pat just saying today that although his back tire still has lots of wear, he would like to buy another to take with us. 

Hoping all works out with the weight/equipment we are bringing. Recently bought these cots to use in the tent. Getting older means you need a certain amount of comfort and using sleeping pads again this year was not something either of us wanted. Trouble was finding a mid-range ($) cot of decent quality and not too heavy. Pat found these at the Kitchener surplus store. They weigh 11 lbs each versus the approximately 5 lbs of a sleeping pad. He will carry them again atop his two side cases.

Pat will test out the cot for his first race weekend coming up at Shannonville on June 3-5 (yup! right before we leave....a track mishap could mean the end of our trip so he better be damn careful!!) He also recently sold his first race bike, bought in 2013. It was a 1976 Honda 550 that had some re-work done on it. Now he just has the 1968 Norton to use and that is fine with me (means less time on the racetrack!)

We spent a couple of hours reviewing our route and how we can lower the mileage the first few days so we are not wiped out by the time we arrive in Labrador for the long, demanding drives. Easy answer, leave a day early!! Ha! that means Pat arrives home Sunday evening from the racetrack and we leave Monday late morning. Everything has to be ready before he takes off the Friday before!

We haven't really tried out our new Bluetooth headset system yet, except in the house, on different levels, wearing our helmets. These helmets take in a bit more wind at the front and with virtually no windscreen on the bike, there is a lot of extra noise. The speakers are on both sides of the helmet so that should help with hearing. 

The helmet on the left is the one I used to use on my Honda 400, which was sold a few years back before I bought the 2010 KLR. The helmet on the right is the one I have now, bought 2 years ago for our trip to Cape Breton. It's a bit more beat up, especially after my crash on the Campbell in the Yukon last year. I bought a new windscreen for it, Pat glued the visor part back together and it looks pretty good now!

Here is a pic of the box that the Bluetooth headset came in. We bought it at the Toronto Motorcycle show last January in Toronto. 

The lists continue to grow of things that we need to take with us or complete in advance. I do notice that our Jack Russell Terrier Petey, who is 16 years old, is becoming a little more frail, unbalanced, even bit confused at times. I am so lucky to have a loving family for him to stay with while we are away. I could not travel with peace of mind thinking of him stuck in a kennel. Thank you Marsha, Jeff, Claire and Grace!