T Minus 1 Day - Music to my ears

Finally, tomorrow is the big trip. I'm pretty pumped. I haven't posted in a few days since I was pretty busy running a million little errands and tying up loose ends. There's a seemingly never ending list of things to do and get when you're preparing for a trip like this. On the plus side, the next trip should be much easier, especially since I'll already have everything I need. Today I got all my bags put by the door and the clothes set aside that I'm going to be wearing for the trip, so all I need to do tomorrow is wake up on time, which is a challenge in itself.

A couple people were wondering how I'm going to be documenting the trip. For pictures I've got an old Sony Cybershot digital camera. I don't even know what model it is since it was discontinued about 4 years ago. Still takes decent pictures though, so it will do just fine (besides, I'm mostly broke at this point anyways). As for posting updates, I have a Blackberry that I'll be using, providing I have reception in whatever motel I happen to be in. The Shoei gets in on the glamor shot just because it's an awesome helmet.

One thing that will probably prove to be a lifesaver on this trip will be good music. I have 13 hours of prairies to cross before I reach the mountains, which is nothing but flat, boring, straight highway. I tried for a while to find a set of headphones that fit comfortably under a full face helmet. Eventually I ended up taking some old Sony earbuds, tearing off half the plastic with some pliers, and then using a hot glue gun to close up the wires. End result? Pretty good actually. I figured I'd give my Franken-buds a test run to make sure they were comfortable.

I think it's too easy to get a little carried away when it comes to tech gadgets. I watched a youtube video of a guy showing what he brings for a touring trip, and the main message I got from it was "My job pays me in futureshop gift cards". If you need more than 2 power cords, you are bringing too many electronics. Isn't this supposed to be to get away from it all? Pretty much every site I came across listed a GPS as a must. I have one, but I'm not bringing it (here's hoping I'm out of the province before my parents read that). GPS units can be a great tool, but they only became popular for average consumers in the last decade, and people have been making road trips successfully for a hell of alot longer than that. So I'll do without. In a pinch, my Blackberry has a built in GPS anyways. Besides, I have a pretty useful tool that will take its place:

I'm not quite sure what to expect of this trip, but I'm sure it'll be quite an experience either way. If anyone would like, send a kind word to the motorcycle gods!