Sat down at La Bottega Nicastro Fine Food Shop (64 George Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 5V9). Nice place, a choice of sandwiches for an affordable $6 and entrees at a separate counter for $12-$16. It's a combo Italian grocery and restaurant.
Met with a colleague from Valley Catholic High School (we are both class of 2003). Somehow he made it to Canada from Portland! Seems the job market is really that bad in the states, even for someone with a graduate degree. Greg's a fun guy to hang out with, and seems to be fitting in well in Ottawa (and Canada). I heard from him that he, too, thinks Ottawa to be a bit boring, confirming my biases. I like having biases with no founding facts, so when he told me this I was a bit disappointed because I like spouting my mouth about things I know nothing about, and now I can't blindly bash Ottawa anymore, I have first hand knowledge. I'm too well-informed.
For people who don't know, St. George Street runs next to the ByWard market, a popular outdoor mall just east of Parliament Hill
Read more about it on WikiTravel.
Anyway, we spent about an hour catching up, and I commented that I don't need to go to our 10-year reunion because I'm already sitting down with everyone I would want to see again from high school. Haha, I kid, I kid, I think the 10-year will be a blast!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Leaving Montréal
Had breakfast with my sister at Cafe Orange. We were blessed by the wonderful dripping of an air conditioner above us on the terrasse. It sounds like I'm complaining but I actually found
Now, I will complain (Maryam!) about the server. She really didn't seem interested in serving us, almost everything at the table we got ourselves from a nearby service cart.
 |
| My sis seeing me off. |
Expenses so far...
Fuel (Montréal) $25
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$25
How to pack for a motorcycle trip
Here is my impression of what you should bring.Kit laid out
Like many adventurers, I'm really intent on keeping things light. Here's my kit laid out.Luggage
I purchased used military surplus waterproof plastic cases originally designed to hold night vision goggles. They came with styrofoam inserts, which I threw
away. They each hold about 25 liters. Purchased for $25 each on St. Laurent street here in Montreal. One is used as a top case and the others as panniers. They are "permanently" mounted to GIVI motorcycle racks. I say "permanently" because you can remove the screws and get them off, but it's not convenient.
I'm planning on camping a lot. A friend of mine was very generous in offering a small tent that's great for traveling. I have a ThermaRest. My sister said I should just use a foam pad, but for a bit more space I was assured that I'd always be comfortable. My ThermaRest is cool because it looks like it was bought in the 80s (it must be my dad's), so the retro color and logo is pretty cool!
away. They each hold about 25 liters. Purchased for $25 each on St. Laurent street here in Montreal. One is used as a top case and the others as panniers. They are "permanently" mounted to GIVI motorcycle racks. I say "permanently" because you can remove the screws and get them off, but it's not convenient.
Camping
I'm planning on camping a lot. A friend of mine was very generous in offering a small tent that's great for traveling. I have a ThermaRest. My sister said I should just use a foam pad, but for a bit more space I was assured that I'd always be comfortable. My ThermaRest is cool because it looks like it was bought in the 80s (it must be my dad's), so the retro color and logo is pretty cool!Packing List
- Wallet
- Drugs/pills
- Camelback
- Sunglasses
- Copy of useful numbers in case phone lost/stolen or broken
- Reading Material
- Pen and paper
- Shopping Bags (clothes & general storage)
- Visor/glasses cleaner
- Extra money/Credit card hidden on bike or money belt for emergency
- Copy credit-card/license/bike papers (reg, roadside, insurance, passport, birth cert)
- Pen-knife - Leather man
- Bottle of Red or poison of choice
- Diary
TOILETRIES & PERSONAL MAINTENANCE:
- Sunscreen & insect spray
- Toilet Paper
- Wet Ones/baby Wipes
- Pack towel
- Deodorant, toothbrush & paste
- Firstaid kit (just the basics, leave the bandages etc for the ambos, unless you know what your doing)
- Soap
- Shaving gear
- Foot spray
- Floss
- Condoms
- Chapstick
- Immodium
- Eyedrops
ADDITIONAL CLOTHING/GARMENTS:
- Wet weather gear
- Jacket and pants with liner
- Cold weather riding gloves
- Thermal under gloves
- Warm weather riding gloves
- Thermals & balaclava
- Light shoes
- Bandanna/riding scarf/neck warmer
- Sandals
- 3 T-shirts
- 1 sweatshirt
- 1 hat
- 1 pair shorts
- 2 pairs pants (jeans, dress)
- 4 pairs underwear
- 5 pair socks
- Cycling shorts
NAVIGATION, SAFETY & SURVIVAL GEAR:
- Maps
- Manual compass + whistle (on chain off collar)
- Braided fishing line
- 5m Braided Cord (Also useful as clothes line)
- General Purpose (survival) Knife
- Space blanket
CAMPING
- Tent
- Thermarest
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping bag liner
- Folding seat (I actually didn’t pack this!)
- Headtorch (spare batteries)
- Cooker & fuel bottle + lighter
- Pot with lid
- Mug
- Spork, pot pliers, spatula
- Camp suds
- Water purification tablets
- Poop shovel
- Saw (I actually didn’t pack this!)
MOTORCYCLE
- Extra Fuel (1L), container, gives about 25km range
- Spare bike key (give spare to friend)
- Gear oil (for chain, key cylinder, pivots)
- Tubeless repair kit
- CO2 inflator
- Bike tool kit (included with the motorcycle)
- JB weld
- Extra bolts and nuts for luggage
- Rags
- Tire pressure gauge
- Disposable gloves, for working on bike
- Spare cargo restraints (Rok straps)
- Dry bags x2 for panniers
- Cable lock for coat, helmet, pants, topcase lock
- Rubber bands, Ty-Wraps (cable ties)
FOOD
- Cooking oil
- Aluminium Foil (you can cook/reheat almost anything if its wrapped in foil)
- Salt/pepper mini set (waterproof)
ELECTRONICS
- Inverter 120v
- Music Player (and charger cable & earplugs)
- Phone (charger and extra charging cable)
- Camera (and charger)
- Helmet cam
- Voice recorder and mic (and charging cable)
- 2 keychain cameras
- Laptop (and charger)
Friday, June 29, 2012
Communication on the road
A benefit of traveling in the US is that you can still stay connected and provide great trip reports, get great maps, and find out what's nearby!
Being a computer guy I've brought some tech:
My plan is to purchase a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go SIM for $3 a day, which gives you unlimited voice, data, and SMS. Since I am assigned some strange T-Mobile number, I'm using my VoIP phone number through Callcentric to let me receive calls from a 514 number, so I don't have to tell all of my friends and clients my new phone number! It's kind of like Google Voice, except Google Voice is not available to Canadians.
Being a computer guy I've brought some tech:
- Camera
- Phone (Android Galaxy NEXUS)
- 3 video camers (2 keychain and one helmet
- An old Dell Inspiron 700m laptop, with an inverter to run it off of my bike
This is mostly for play, but there's also some work involved, since I promised my clients I'd be connected for the month that I am gone.
My plan is to purchase a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go SIM for $3 a day, which gives you unlimited voice, data, and SMS. Since I am assigned some strange T-Mobile number, I'm using my VoIP phone number through Callcentric to let me receive calls from a 514 number, so I don't have to tell all of my friends and clients my new phone number! It's kind of like Google Voice, except Google Voice is not available to Canadians.
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