Making the World Big Again

Well, the tickets are booked!

We are officially arriving in Canada on the 26th of April. We've got a quick stop in Vancouver to say hello to family and then off we go to Toronto, Halifax and finally St. John's, Newfoundland. I'm thinking there's going to be a fair amount of jet lag to grapple with, as we are hailing from Perth, Australia, so it's a good thing we arrive a few days before we have to start the ride!!!

We are expecting a rather windy and rainy Newfoundland. And a good deal colder than Perth too. But we are starting in May to make the most of the non-snow weather Canada has to offer. As it is we are likely to push into November on the west coast in British Columbia. Ah well, it'll put some hair on our chests and thicken our skins.

I'll admit that I am somewhat enjoying the look of disbelief when we tell people what we're doing. I like pushing the disbelief button. Really, it's not that crazy. At least, I mean to say, there's crazier folks out there. There's a couple of men who rode across Siberia in the dead of winter. They faced minus 40°C and had to light a fire every time they got a flat just to heat up the rubber enough to get it off the rim.

But what I am enjoying most is the comment "But that's going to take you ages. It's so far." Exactly. That is the point. Doing things slowly is a great novelty and a privilege in our society. We've lost our appreciation for distance and time. As with our flights over to Canada, I can be in Australia one day and in Canada... well, the same day actually, with the dateline... but within 16 hours.

It IS going to take ages because it is a long way. Our route should total just over 10,000 km. I think it will be nice to feel the world getting bigger again, to realise our place on it, and to remember how small we really are.