My neighbours came over to my garage before I left in their PJ’s to say good bye and good luck. I thought that was sweet. One of their hubbies on his way of work caught this pic of me heading east right after I left my house.
The weather started out great. Perfect for me to ride. Cool, over cast and no rain until I hit the interior of BC. Changed to cold, rain and that lasted all the way to Castlegar, BC through the mountain passes. Was too lazy to get the heated gear out but today I am prepared for T Storms, rain and cold into Montana.
Today mark a big day for me. Not only heading out SOLO for the first time but again to protect some of my privacy I will reveal that while I left, there was a moving truck at my house and when I return there will be big holes inside my home missing “things” so Cheryl can have a something for her “new” start in life.
My day in my head was full of ruminating thoughts, questions, feelings and emotions. I played a lot of music to try and drown out any negatives and it partly worked. I just could not get completely away from that gnawing gut wrenching feeling. Even seeing an active Osprey nest with chicks did not allow me to escape my thoughts.
I knew this would be a difficult day on levels I can’t even explain….and it was. But for the sake of my personal saga I will not cloud this entire report using it as my therapist. Instead I will take all the PM messages, emails and posting of support as comfort and try to focus on the glass being half full. Not easy for a type A control freak like me.
My ride from Maple Ridge to Castlegar was uneventful in the sense that things went OK despite the weather of course.
I got a good view from Anarchist mountain outside Osoyoos, BC
This is a familiar route. Did it in 2010 going X Country as well. I decided to stay in Canada for the first day just because. My views like this would have been plenty if it wasn’t for the low cloud cover.
My selfie and the flash went off it was that gray out after I left this vista.
Oh, need to sneak in a pic of my beauty. Need to rethink some packing. Maybe relocate items etc. Will work on this day to day.
I ended up doing about 628 KM’s day 1, and was hoping to try to get in over 700 today. But we will see how the weather turns out. They are a warning of T storms, rain, and cold. I am prepared today with heated liner and gloves for anything. My new KLIM Altitude did as expected in the rain. I stayed dried but the light colour is getting really dirty fast. Not a big deal but I rather have the suit a little darker colour, not black but something that will not show every piece of crud that hits you.
Saw this cemetery along the road. It’s a Aboriginal cemetery. Just tons of simple crosses. Eery sort of.
Staying on the pavement for a while…not going to deviate too much on the way east but coming home I might explore some more. So, this was it…rain for the rest of my day. I don’t set up camp in the rain. I will if it starts out dry and rains…no biggie. But I ended up a motel in Castlegar for the night with bad WiFi. 😉
I am off to Montana today via Creston. Will head South from there and try to find pockets of drier weather but I think I am out of luck until Tuesday who knows. Maybe there will be a break.
Solo day 2 will commence in a few hours. Need to shower and eat of course. If I miss comments my apologies. I just a many things on the go and if there is a question or something in particular you want to know…PM or email. Thanks. Here’s to a day with better thoughts, clearer mind and embracing my trip.
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Advgrrl Motorcycle Adventures & More 
You have had that spot for a while, is this the first time it has eaten batteries like that?
Here is a poem I say to myself when riding through long rainy days. I don’t know why but I get a warm feeling when i say it as I ride thru the wicked weather.
From The Moody Blues “Late Lament”
“Breathe deep the gathering gloom, Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament, Another day’s useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one, Lonely one cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son, Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night, Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white. But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?”
Hoping the colours return to your life.
I like that “colours return to your life” thanks
Hi Leslie, shame about the weather but once the sun comes out, spirits will lift. Enjoying the write-up so far.
As for the SPOT… misery loves company so I thought I’d include my evaluation from last year:
SPOT Connect
The biggest disappointment of the trip with respect to gear—YES I know it says on their website that they recommend using special Energizer Lithium batteries but what they don’t say is that other batteries either don’t work at all, or only last an hour or so. The special Energizers are virtually impossible to find anywhere in Europe. Top that off with constant Bluetooth connectivity issues (phone and device stop talking) and a stupid app on the phone which needs to be in the foreground or the unit stops sending tracking points, and you have a product that would do better smashed at the bottom of a rocky Alpine chasm than come along on my next trip. Infuriatingly disappointing after wasting a shitload of cash on this plus another shitload of cash on the subscription fees. And the map sharing function on their website works like something from 1999. In 2013 devices should not be such a struggle—are you listening SPOT? Built-in battery, USB charging and up-to-date software should not be too much to ask for a ‘premium’ product.
I agree with your review…Connect SUCKS
Got the Gen3 now let’s see if I can connect the new device and the SPOT adv page and SPotwalla.
Will be interested to hear the full report about the Gen3 once your trip is over. I like the fact it can use rechargeable batteries and charge off USB… maybe SPOT did listen to me after all when I ranted?!
I have just reactivated my Spot after only using it for a trip in South Australia in April last year, its still on the same batteries it arrived with. Not a problem at all. Either the batteries are not quite the right ones or you have a dud Spot. I will be changing the batteries just to be on the safe side before we head OS in a month.
I hope you get some good weather to cheer you up and make the ride more enjoyable.
K
Kim I have the Connect I think it’s an issue with this model. And I did get better weather today thank you.
Boy, I can certainly relate to day one trip blues and having a moving truck in my mirror that same day. Keep moving forward…there is much to discover…and the weather is sure to get better.
Going forward for sure…literally and head wise.
I am a Harley Davidson fan and ride a 2009 Fat Boy!!!
I had a Fat Boy for 3 months 😉
Nothing better for ruminating than the road, weather or not… 😉
I still ruminate but it’s getting less about home and more about where I am going
I’m hooked, will be following your trip. I’m not sure which spot you have but during my trip to Alaska I only changed batteries once in 34 days and 12901 miles. Mine is the old style, orange unit, no bluetooth. On mine I press the button whenever I want to send the location. I assume yours is doing that automatically. Ride safe
I have he Gen 3 now and they say 17 days. It tracks only when moving and the links to my tracking are working