I’m super excited about this trip! What can I say except it is riding to Alaska. How cool is that?

Yesterday,I purchased a 30-day international phone plan from my carrier to minimize the expense of using my cell in Canada. The $30 plan provides unlimited texting and some data for checking weather, etc with the phone’s apps, and a discounted per-minute charge for talk time.

Today I’m busy getting the bike packed.

A friend and I recently spoke about purchasing camping gear for use with his new GS. I store the major camping gear pieces in my top case. The sleeping bag, tent and mattress pad fit together along with a few other things like my extra visor and my jacket liner.

Food-related camp gear, including my stove unit and meals, fits into one of the side cases.

In purchasing all this gear, it was my goal to fit everything I needed for most trips into one of the cases or the tank bag. I am carrying a folded waterproof duffel under a bungee net spread across the rear seat on this trip just in case.

In order to ease the border crossing into Canada, we have printed itineraries. In past trips into Canada, I’m often asked where I’ll be staying. A printed itinerary makes it easy to outline our plans, if asked. Thanks go to Will for this !!

Gear Update

I have recently installed a mount on the bike for my cell phone. In the past, I have tried keeping my phone in my map pocket, but it gets hot under the plastic.

Techmount offered a solution that I purchased and installed just prior to my Trip to Wallowa Lake. The mount has been working well. It holds the phone securely while remaining easy to access and use.