A few days at home turned into a couple weeks and the snow stacked up hard this winter.  it wasn’t even Christmas and I was missing my bike.  Considering a snow bike kit or something similar, just so I could get out year round.  I had to go to Victoria for work where the weather was still ridable and as I sat in my hotel looking out the window at people riding i just got more and more frustrated.  I surfed facebook and some of my favourite motorcycle web sites where I came across a week long KTM rally across the outback!  Holy crap!  IM IN!  well I better call my wife first.

Within a day of finding out about it my wife had given me the thumbs up to go, but under one stipulation.  She wanted an adventure of her own.  Totally fair.  As soon as the Rally comes available tomorrow, I was going to book my position.

Unfortunately as being an adult, I also have to work.  So with the time difference i could not be available the second the rally opened up to booking.  After work I jumped online.  In bold underlined font on the website sorry this event is sold out.  I was heart broken.  Without thinking I started reaching out to every KTM rep in Canada I knew, then got online and started emailing and calling the folks for KTM Australia.  I ended up chatting with a lovely Canadian girl named Rosie who works for KTM Australia.  She told me that they sold out in under an hour!  I explained my situation and that I would love to come down for the rally.  She said she would get back to me.  Within a couple hours I had an email that I was accepted and had to pay!

So now the pre adventure adventure begins.  Shipping a bike was way too much money, buying was going to be the way to go.  here was my chance to own a 690, if only for a short while.  But with the more and more research I did To get the 690 to a rally ready state was too cost prohibitive. The rally has requirements, and I was going to have to do some wrenching to get the bike ready.  I was surfing the net when I found a KTM 950, same as my bike in Canada for a good price, just down the road from some great friends of mine in Perth.  I wired the money and snapped up the bike, my friend Tony went and picked it up and I booked flights.  This was going to happen!  I had butterflies.  I had never spent so much money so frivolously in my life.  Heres hoping That I can sell the bike when I leave!

Over the next few months I was an internet spender, Parts and gear that will make my 12,000km trip, doable.   Hot weather gear was something I have never owned in Canada, especially not in northern BC.  Soft panniers, and a new jacket?  A new jacket is how much?????  Thank goodness a friend of mine Jon Curtis was replacing his BMW riding jacket and offered it to me for the cost of shipping it up from Maine.  A few decals to cover up the BMW logos with KTM and it looks acceptable.  Plus it is half the weight of my 20 year old Joe Rocket jacket.

The planning, packing, doubting, re-packing, replanning became almost neurotic.  My wife was ready to kill me I am sure.  Thank goodness she can brush off my excitement and not completely loose her mind when I have already lost mine.  T minus 2 weeks, I lost it.  Butterflies in my stomach and complete worry about leaving my home for 6 weeks.  I was making myself ill.  But then…..I got on the plane.  My wife gave me shit.  Why after me working camp jobs for most of the last 20 years couldn’t she manage without me.  Just because its a different continent, I am not any more (or less) available.  She was right…..she’s always right!  and with that I stepped into the security check, waved goodby through the glass at the airport and started my trip! May 8th 2018.  which brings me somewhat up to date on how I got here, sitting in the Hong Kong Airport, nervous and thinking about the adventure I have begun while waiting for my flight to perth.