Almost Ready

Sooo,

After a few long stressful days of spending more money than I had initially planned. I now have all the gear I believe I need to start my trip (but I am bound to find something I have forgotten; after all this IS the first time I have done anything quite like this!)..

I have taken the bike I will be riding on a few short test rides.
The first of which was a bit of a surprise: On the way home from purchasing said bike, my dad (who came to pick me up in his truck), informed me he had a meeting and I would have to wait a few hours for him in the neighbouring town.... Well that seemed like a foolish idea, considering  my bike was in the back. It didn't have pedals or a water bottle rack on it yet but I figure I might as well get used to putting my bike together (or back together) if I am going to be on the road on my own for the next few months.So I strapped on the pedals and rack, and rode about 27km where I stopped at the house of an old family friend in Bittern Lake. I did the ride in about 1hr and 10 min. (not bad for the first ride in a while!). While visiting and waiting for my dad, as the sun had gone down and I hadn't put my lights on yet, I was happy to receive a personal donation towards expenses I will be experiencing on the first leg of my journey, as well as a nice feed!. (Thank-you Mrs. Murphy!)
The next run was just a short trip to say good-bye to my grandparents who live only a few km away. After a nice visit, a good lunch and another personal donation towards expenses (thanks gramma!, you may think I'm crazy, but always supportive), I rode home, the round trip being a short 10km and taking me about 40 min. of road time. This little trip taught me two things... I do NOT like gravel and I do Not like headwinds. I will be avoiding gravel as much as possible though winds I am sad to say I will have to live with.

I am now undertaking the painstaking task of packing. I am not a fan of packing at the best of times, never mind packing a bike when you have to take into consideration weight distribution and balance...DREADFUL.

As things stand right now,  if I can get all of the last minute preparations and good-byes done tomorrow; I could be on the road by Monday. If not my departure will have to wait until Wednesday.

Will keep the updates comming, and I ask everyone to work on spreading word on my mission and cause. As I've said before my biggest goal is to not be the only one to benifit from my efforts.

-STEPH