Well, once again the time of departure is approaching fast, with every moment being packed (no pun intended) with a flurry of activities, from choosing the right underwear ( yes, that is very important when riding a motorcycle) to checking for needed inoculations, medications and all the other things one thinks one needs. This time, the trip will take me from beautiful Powell River, a small sea level community on the west coast of Canada to Vancouver and on to Mexico City. After a 10 hour layover at Terminal 2, (don’t worry, I have rented a small IzZzZzleep cubical for the duration) we will depart Mexico City and hopefully point the plane south towards Quito, the second highest city in the world. (and this has nothing to do with drugs).

Nestled in the northern section of the Andes and at 9350 feet above sea level, Quito is pretty well the “nosebleed section” of all the cities of the world and I am glad my friends and I will be there for 3 days to acclimatize before setting off on our 10 day, 3000 Km motorcycle trip through the Andes and into the Amazon basin.

”10 days and only 3000km“??? was my first reaction. “We can do this in 3 days” I thought and out came the map and planned route. After overlaying the two I started to realize that during the 3000 km of horizontal distance we are planning to travel, we will be required to deal with 46 Km of altitude change. From a mere 1300 feet as the low point of our route to a whopping 17000 feet above sea level, and this several times during our trip, will tax our systems, I am sure. Traveling from high altitude to the Amazon basin and back up the next mountain through places that receive up to 170 inches of rain per year should prove to be an interesting exercise for machine and man alike.

So here I sit, pecking out my first Blog and wondering what this next adventure will bring. Traveling the world with my family has been an incredible blessing, requiring me to trust, stretch, be vulnerable, fear, laugh, cry and go through so many more emotions that are such an important part of life. I wish you all could come along and experience with me all the incredible sights, smells, emotions and feelings motorcycle adventure touring will expose you to, but since you can’t, allow me to share my adventures by means of pictures and the written word. As always, I trust that God will lead, guide and protect my family during my absence and our group as we rub shoulders with people of different race, color and culture. May my presence bring light, not darkness, hope, not despair, love and not hate to anyone I meet.

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