What Are We Thinking? (Brett)

I've been asking myself the question - why am I doing this trip to Baja?

Different Reasons:
Pragmatic- I just spent a few thousand dollars on a motorbike and equipment to do the trip so it's time to get er done... but this doesn't answer the question.

See the Sights- I was in Baja last year and thought it would be awesome to drive the entire length... difficult to do w/ two small children as you have to drive it both ways (24 hours of drive time to get from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas one way). Now's my chance to do it...

Consolation Prize- many of you know how I am trying to get a trip funded to take the wife and kids down to Chile on a motorbike w/ a side car. Trailer is at http://vimeo.com/7844253 - if the trip to Chile happens, I'm sure we will learn from this trip and can apply this knowledge on a longer expedtion... If Chile doesn't happen (still waiting to hear back from Oprah and Travel Channel) here's my consolation prize--13 days w/ my good friend Nathan heading to Mexico on a motorbike.

Bucket List- let's face it, one day we will all die and there is a lot of things that need to be done and seen before this happens. Not that I want to meet my Maker just yet... it's better to acknowledge the danger of an activity and take steps to survive then to be ignorant of potential peril and perish. When I'm old and decrypted it will be fun to reflect on life and laugh at the fun adventures and remember the great people who shared them...

Maybe this trip will get the adventure motorcycling out of our systems? Or, mayben not?

I look forward to sharing our experience w/ all of you, look forward to your comments and appreciate your prayers & concerns for our safety.

T Minus Five (Nathan)

My mission for the next few days: avoid all contact with weather maps.

I looked this morning, and it may be better not to know. Next Monday, I'm heading out on a motorcycle trip from Vancouver to Cabo San Lucas and back to Calgary. Eight thousand kilometres. Thirteen days. A bit loony in the sunshine. Downright madness in the rain. Lunacy in the hail. Which, unfortunately, is what the forecasters are calling for up and down the coast in the next day or so. Hail mixed with thunderstorms. That, and temperatures that are barely breaking double-digits. One of the weather maps is colour-coded, with yellow showing 10 C and above. The yellow starts at about day three of our trip.

We're still a few days out, and hopefully things will change. (By we, I mean myself and my friend Brett, who also plans to blog as we go). But this is an El Nino year, so I'm not sure what to expect. I've spent the last few days running around Calgary, picking up last-minute supplies and gear. I'm glad I sprung for the waterproof insulated motorcycle pants, and for the heavier weight long underwear. I'm glad I have a pretty warm motorcycle jacket. But I think I'll spend tonight, my final packing night before I head off on a weekend with my wife, throwing in a few extra warm clothes.

T Minus Five and I can't help but be worried about this trip. We're hoping to ride through Lake Tahoe and Mammoth on the way back. Right now, both are down in negative temperatures and getting dumped with snow. When I envisioned this trip, I looked at pictures online of sunny winding coastal roads. It looked like paradise on two wheels. I'm not sure what it will look like in a downpour. For now, all I can hope is that our wheels won't be rain-soaked for long.