Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Big Day Has Arrived

Well, sort of anyway. Tomorrow is the BIG day, but it sure is getting close.

Currently I am in Grand Rapids, MI to pick up Craig. We need to make a few minor last minute adjustments to the sleds and then it's time to pack up and head out for the Soo. Craig informed me last night at the bar that he wants to stop on the way to buy a new coat. Craig is not a big spender so for for him that is a pretty big deal; in fact he has only had 2 different coats in all the years we have been riding.

Based on my friend Billy Glascott's suggestion I purchased a SPOT device, which is like a mini EPERB device that they use on aircraft and vessels. It has a 911 feature that works off satellite in case the crap really hits the fan. Otherwise, however, it allows us to send OK messages to our key contacts (AKA Wives) and will also allow anyone interested to track our progress on Google Earth. I am still troubleshooting it but hopefully it will work. Here is the link:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0S8IybZqqOXhIcGAq5ssGtACAqQ3y8bPb

If the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it to your browser's address bar.

Heading out to get some breakfast and will try to post again this evening when we get to the Soo.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

SeldHeads Itinerary

Take a look at the map below and you can get an idea of where we will be headed on a given day. Here is the route:

Sunday - leave the Soo on the train 9AM - exit at Hawk Junction (just N of Wawa) around 2PM - ride to Hornepayne (~130 Mi)
Monday - Hornepayne to Cochrane - (~275 Mi)
Tues - Tour the Abitibi Canyon, to Timmins (~200 Mi)
Wed - Timmins to Chapleau - (~175 Mi)
Thurs - Chapleau to Wawa - (~150 Mi)
Fri - Wawa back to Soo - (220 Mi)


Getting Ready & Overwhelmed

Based on Erin's suggestion I have gone ahead and set up a blog - my very first - as a way to allow everyone to track our progress on the trip. It literally took 5 mins and seems like a handy tool for this very type of situation. Good idea Buddy!

So here it is - my very first Blog.

The truth is I am starting to get a little overwhelmed. Anyone who knows me really well knows that I have travel anxiety, and it is starting to kick in. I have not packed a thing yet for the trip, but I did order some new gloves and socks for the trip and they arrived today in the mail - in a package - so I guess that sort of counts. I also went to the Yamaha dealership yesterday and picked up some saddlebags, which are really nice - to help carry all of our gear. My concern was that if I had to carry it all in a backpack it would cause me to get fatigued, so this way we can strap a lot if it on the sleds and let them do most of the work.

I have been corresponding with some locals and other riders who frequently ride the trails in Ontairio, and they have been a wealth of information in planning this trip. One guy even offered to talk to me on the phone, which we did, for 3 hours. He lives in Appleton and has been riding in Ontairo for 10 years, and had a lot of good insight and based on his suggestions I have altered our route a little bit. Instead of taking the train to Hearst we are now going to get of at Hawk Junction, which is the halfway point, and then ride up to Hearst. It has added some miles but will prevent us from having to ride the train for 10 hours; this way we will be able to get some riding in on Sunday and that will be more fun. He did scare me a little when he told me it is not ideal that there are only 2 of us going on the trip. I guess there are some pretty long stretches of 80 or more miles where there is litterally NO civilization, so if something were to happen to one of us it would present a very difficult situation for the other. I guess we will need to take extra precaution to make sure nothing happens.

I will post the route later along with a map for those who who want to keep score. Erin has also threatened to post pics of me packing the car - sounds exciting.

Stay tuned.

S-