3 days left

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The countdown clock is ticking, with only 3 days left before departure to Fairbanks. Needless to say, the last week has been pretty hectic. The spreadsheets have been ruling our lives more than ever before!



Last weekend was time for the final packing of the paniers on the bike, plus the one duffel bag that will be strapped to the rear luggage rack. The things spread out on the garage floor are the entire list of equipment for 3 months and 17,000 miles. It may not look like much, but our weight and storage constraints have acted as a great forcing function, pushing Zoe and me to ruthlessly prioritize only the items that are truly needed.



Once everything is laid out on the floor, it’s funny to see how few things one actually needs to be comfortable with for long periods of time. Being entirely self-sufficient, in terms of clothes and various riding gear, as well as, tools and minimal electronics, gives us a great sense of freedom. If it doesn't fit on the bike, well, then it is not needed.



After carefully packing everything onto the bike last week, I drove it to a specialized crating company in Kent, southern Seattle, and dropped it off there. The guys at the crating company are pros, and built a custom wooden crate around the motorcycle. They then drove it to Lynden Transportation's dock (which is the shipping company I hired) at the Tacoma harbor. From there, the crated motorcycle shipped via northeast Pacific and the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage where is should be arriving today. Tomorrow, the crate will be transported via truck to Fairbanks, where I will be picking it up first thing on Friday morning.



If all goes well, next travel report should be from Fairbanks and the Chinook Montessori Charter elementary school which is the first school we donated Kindle e-reader to.





PS My wife Kicki pointed out to me that I made a mistake in the last travel posting. 17,000 miles is not 24,000 km in the metric system, but rather 27,000 km!!!

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