It's becoming more real...
Looking through pictures and refining the blog site, I realize that aside from the first South America trip, most of these journeys have only been a week or two long. Only a dozen days of true satisfaction, climbing on the bike roaming where I please, then it all bleeds back into the real world. Well, it's starting to set in that this is going to be a solid 200 days of riding.
Applying for visas, storing personal belongings, getting fresh credit cards, and updating my will...it all makes the upcoming journey more real. Truly getting excited now.
A few updates:
DJI Mavic is due in on 20 January. Critical.
Russian visa is complete. Passport is back out in the mail for the Belarussian visa.
Have started connecting with McKinsey folks outside of North America for contacts and guidance.
Received some amazing gear from the loved ones...mostly warm weather stuff and camping gear.
Green is pre-positioned safely in Dad's garage in Missouri. Rode him home over Christmas break. This reduces February riding by 40%. Toronto will be rough.
Packed nearly all I needed and carried to to Missouri. Really, aside from new electronics, it's the same or less than my first trip. Learned that too much is bad...and realize it will naturally turn into a hobo's shopping cart over time.
Did some electrical work on it to get the alarm system set, battery charger leads, and electric vest set up. Gonna be solid---but hard to mess with electrical systems on such an elaborate bike.
At work, thus far I've avoided conversations on the trip in order to stay focused...but now I have to let people know my timeline. Interesting, because so many conversations now start with 10 minutes of the questions. "Did you ever see that movie called 'Long Way Round?'"...."Have you thought how many stories you'll be able to tell your grandchildren?"..."It's so dangerous...are you okay with that?" Yes. Yes. Ummm...Yes. But please bring more questions.
It's becoming real.
35 days.
