Day 1

Well I finally got out on the road Thursday morning, six days later than expected. The loss of my only remaining grandparent caused me to have to make a decision. It was not hard to stay around for the funeral, as I loved my grandmother, and I knew I would regret it if I didn't stay. She was a larger-than-life personality, and she made a positive impact on everyone she met. So many times over the days leading up to the funeral, and again at the memorial service, people shared amazing stories of her. Almost every grandchild showed up for the funeral, some from far and wide, and the fact might not be so impressive if there weren't 64 grandchildren. It was nice to meet many of the cousins that I hadn't seen in years. She will leave a hole in the family, and the community, but her wish would probably be that we carry on the work that she started. It would be hard to find anyone more faithful to God, even though she was given many reasons to give up over the years.

The travel for Day 1 started off cold, and it would stay that way throughout the day. It seemed as though I couldn't put enough layers on to keep out the bone-chilling cold. I was fortunate enough to miss most of the rain throughout the day, only riding through a few small showers. The completion of the paving of highway 88 knocked almost 150km off the day's ride, and it's so nice to have that option now for motorcycle travel.

A friend in Sylvan Lake offered to let me crash at her place for night, which I gladly took her up on. Not only did I have a place to stay, upon my arrival I was treated to warm homemade soup. It was good to catch up with her after the meal, she's had to deal with incredible loss in her life, and yet she finds a way to stay positive. I'll keep you in my prayers Kathy, and I can't tell you how much I appreciated the generosity you showed.

I wasn't too focused on taking pictures, all the focus was on staying as warm as possible and just getting the day's ride over with. It ended up being 858km, which took less than 10 hours including all stops. I don't think I've ever ridden at that pace, and hopefully I get to take a little more time for the rest of the way.

The two most influential women in my life, my late grandmother on the left, and my amazing mom on the right. I'll keep you in my prayers Mom!

All packed up and ready to leave Thursday morning. It doesn't look nearly as cold as it felt, but the sun that's shining in the picture didn't follow me on the road.