Crunch-Time! ETD: T minus 3 days...

3 days to go and then I'm jumping ship, hitting the road south.  The last few months of planning all seem a bit of a blur right now, and my excitement of getting on my bike is superseding the anxiety.  Well, I'd be lying if I didn't still have a hint of anxiety, I guess this makes me human.   

I've set this blog up with a few sections that are 'tabbed' on the main page.  I've included 'the Catalyst' which explains what got me into this adventure, 'mi motocicleta' which is a run down of my motorbike and the modifications I have done to it.  I also have a 'Surfs Up' tab explaining the custom board that I'm taking and finally a GPS maps tab which I will update as the trip progresses.  I've also received generous sponsorship from the guys at GPS Travel Maps.com with amazing map sets of ALL of Central America.  Check their link at the bottom of most pages.

My plan:  the goal is to ride my Kawasaki KLR 650 as far south as the road goes physically.  Southern Panama is the goal, turning around at the famous 'bridge' at Yaviza, the start of the Darien Gap.

I have also upped the ante and have decided to make this a motorcycle-surf journey.  Some people deem this as a crazy-nuts idea and this includes me.  I had a custom surf board made last fall and now have a custom rack for my KLR.  I've ridden motorcycles with surfboards on racks in Indonesia, but the bikes were super light and 125cc, which is a different story than a fully loaded KLR.  I just shipped my board to Southern California (see pics below) in addition to a few other items.  I hope to 'baby-steps' the bike + board through the Baja to see how it handles, surfing along the way.  I was lucky to drive the Baja with a buddy a few years back, so I've got some primo surf spots lined up.

I plan to pull chute and leave the board and rack in Cabo at my Dad's place if it doesn't work out and I hope I don't break myself or my board trying :)  If it does work out and seems feasible - it'll be coming with me over the ferry to mainland Mexico and further south, I'm going to see how it goes every step of the way, thus part of the adventure.

My bike 'Rojo' all waxed up and ready to go...

My first bike - 1978 Honda CB 400

Command center - planning and prep zone

Books, maps, ziplocs for country-specific paperwork

 

Getting my board prepped to ship to Southern California.  I sandwiched it between 1/4" plywood so it wouldn't get dinged while shipping.  






I am leaving Thursday with a fantastic neighbour here in the Kootenays.  He is heading to Northern California to pick up a tractor therefore it is working out perfectly for me and my bike to travel with him out of our 'BC Snow-Zone'. 

Getting the stink-eye from my girl for leaving...

Peace-out to a fantastic ski-season and a safe trip!

   

Feel free to follow along in this adventure.  My next post will be somewhere in California in about a week.  Wish me luck, send out the good-vibes and I'll see you on the road...

www.gpstravelmaps.com