Nothing like getting woken up at 0215 to three dogs barking in the house and then I made the mistake in letting them out and all hell broke loose.  We have bears around as well as many other creatures.  I did not see anything but the dogs had a scent.

The culprits…

So, innocent looking here Sierra and Cruizer

and this one…although 14, Xander was the leader!

So, my Lab/Shepard X and Beagle went howling up my garden, surely waking up all the neighbors to catch something, while my little guy just barked orders from the lawn.

Again, I saw nothing but that means nothing in a dogs world.  I finally got them down and quiet and now I am up…I need to nap but today I leave, 1 month, just me and my bike….I am prepared for all the weather that is being reported back to me from across the nation.

Bike is a bit heavier than when I traveled with 2, but it’s pretty balanced and I am sure I will get used to it.

I am not taking a whole lot of tire tools.  As I stated before I am really not the best mechanic and I do have BMW roadside and BCAA if really needed. I brought with me tools that can fix easy things, tighten loose screws, bolts, stuff like that, and plugs holes. As always a tire pump too.

Here she is tucked in hours before we leave.

What I like about the Jesse panniers is how narrow they are.  They do not stick out past the handlebars.  Mind you these are only 8 inch Safari bags, they don’t make them anymore but make 9 inch.  If I could change my panniers I wouldn’t mind that extra inch for a solo trip but I packed smartly and everything is definitely snug.

I have a tent, stove, Therm-A-Rest and sleeping bag.  That takes up quite a bit of room in general.  If all I was planning was credit card lodging I would have space to spare.  I need to watch the $$ spent on this trip.

My Cardo Q3 will help entertain me.  I have audio books and a ton of music.

Going through a separation you never know how much the actual separation will cost.  So far a lot in more ways than one.  I have mixed emotions about this trip.  I am used to having Cheryl at my back for thousands of KM’s.  I am just used to having her on all my trips for the last many years.

It’s always been Cheryl & Leslie….

So, my journey begins today…to “find” myself, try to come to terms with this whole new concept of just Leslie, will I want to stay and live in Canada?  I mean I came here for her.  Lot’s of thinking…lot’s a new memories to be made from this one simple trip.

I will do my best to keep coming with the updates but I have to see how my routine goes while actually on the trip.  How much time I have to try to do everything.  Check out the first page, SpotWalla is working and live as long as I remember to correctly connect my SPOT Connect each day, and Face Book will probably be the easiest place for quick updates.

Back to bed for a few more and I should be out the door by 0800-0900 or so.

Again until next time…