I though I'd send you some photos of the bike stacked up for the trip..then, whilst taking all apart again, I thought I'd photograph all the crap that I will be taking with me.

Then I thought it might be good for a laugh if you were able to drop this on the TVTR website for all the lads/lasses to see (I'm bloody hopeless at posting photos etc).

Intended trip:-

Canmore, Alberta, Canada (my home) to RossRiver in the Yukon territories.

In short (here's where Google is really useful) .Canmore, Jasper, Prince George (you're now in British Columbia), Smithers, Stewart, Hyder (Alaska panhandle), Heading North on the Cassiar Highway to Watson Lake (Yukon), on to Johnson's crossing, North on the Canol Highway to Ross River, West to Carmacks, South to Whitehorse, join the Alaska Highway South-East to Dawson Creek, South to Grande Prairie, South to Hinton, West to Jasper and South home again. In short about 5000 miles in 16 days camping in the wilderness with the bears, moose and buffalo. The Yukon is about the same size as the British Isles in landmass and has a population of 31,000 people 19,000 of which live in Whitehorse.

Basically there is virtually no one after I leave Smithers in B.C. Petrol stations are about 250 miles apart on average and there are virtually no emergency services. In fact, what little emergency services there are would take at least a half day to reach you (if not a day in most cases) if you were injured. Furthermore there is NO mobile coverage for 95% of this area so you can't just make a call if you've gone rubber side up. Basically this really is the last frontier of North America and I'm not out to get any hero points here although I'm riding alone. The purpose of this years trip is to recce the area and take photos for a family and friends trip sometime in the next year or two (let's get the bloody recession out of the way first) and for me to unwind as I do work pretty hard at my job (gigolo?). The plus side is that I've been a qualified Mountain Guide in the Rocky Mountains (Banff National Park) for the last thirteen years or so and I specialise in teaching outdoor survival skills to anyone who has the time to listen to me. I've spent weeks at a time camping in minus 40 teaching the British Army simple survival skills and encountered Grizzlies on the slopes of some of our highest mountains, but this trip, because I'm riding solo, has me concerned about wildlife because its unpredictable. If the bike breaks down, I can certainly repair it or patch it up until I reach civilization but Grizzly bears and Mountain lions I have a healthy respect for (and no, Canadians don't carry guns). Needless to say I will not be pushing the envelope with regard to risk on this trip.

My love of being outdoors and riding bikes stems from Devon where I was always out hiking & camping as a young lad and greenlaning wherever possible. I am proud to be a somewhat distant forum member of the TVTR and owe much of my mechanical and motorcycling skills to my older brother Fixer.

Anyway, now you've read a little bit about me and my forthcoming trip, here are some photos and a description of the stuff Ill be taking with me.

My Bike, a GS1200 Adventure, fully loaded for the trip. Not exactly a greenlaner but we do have thousands of miles of large dirt roads over here.

ERRR.NAH!

Although Im going to scrub my existing tyres out by the time I reach the Yukon, I think Ill ship these buggers by Greyhound bus and pick them up in Watson Lake. Nothing like a good challenge replacing these hoops on my own in the bush!

Simple GPS and mount. The reasoning here is that I may need to carry it whilst hiking a long way to find help. Even the North Americans havent got a complete e-map system for this area yet so all I need is lat & long to cross reference with a map.

95% of the gear that you saw stacked on the bike. Starting from left each time:-

2 man tent with vestibule and bungees.

Spare hiking boots (I will also pack some Crocs as well because they are comfy for padding around in the evenings).

Rain hat goretex.

2 pairs of socks.

2 thermal wicking tops by North Face.

1 pair of lightweight trousers that zip off into shorts.

Cook set.

Slime compressor and bottle of Goop (all neatly packaged in a protective case.how cute).

25 foot lanyard for erecting a tarp or just lashing stuff together to bail myself out of trouble.

Stove fuel bottle, stove burner and base. Dont forget the parts/repair kit!

Clear plastic bag with shaving kit, soap , toothbrush etc.

First aid kit - bandages, triangular bandages, elastoplast by the dozen, tincture of Iodine, burn dressings, moleskin, tick pliers (no, a fag does not remove them [there's not enough room to take a fag with you on this bike]), tweezers, scissors and steri-wipes.

8X10 foot sil tarp made by integral designs. This is a seriously good piece of kit!

Spare fuel bottle made by sigg.

Spare bike gloves.

Orange shamwow cloth thats crap at cleaning your bike but really good as a personal towel!

On top of the towel is a can of bear spray. This stuff is only designed to be used within 20 feet of an aggressive bear but will do some serious damage to its sensory nerves as its about 50 times more concentrated than the mace the police use. I have neighbours that I'd like to try this out on.

Thermarest. A thick one and full length, whats the point with these bloody ¾ length slimline pieces of crap people buy these days. I want a good nights sleep dammit!

Sleeping bag - 3 season and in a compression sack.

Spare bungees on top of a black drybag.

Red bag full of food. Well actually Pussers rat packs but it'll do in an emergency ( I love the corned beef hash but it gives me heartburn of Biblical proportions these days).

Black pannier liner with the following on top:- Rim protectors, chainsaw in a can (sounds ludicrous but it really works well), mini binoculars, Gobbling rods, Petzl tikka headlamp and a BMW spark plug cap puller (needed to re-mortgage for that one).

Torx male/female socket set with the bottom tray cut out to fit jubilee clips, washers and circlips.

Small clear plastic box of metric bolts, nuts etc.

Two tubes of liquid steel and aluminium (basically steel or alloy reinforced epoxy for gluing the pots back on if they fall off).

Tyre repair kit (mushroom plugs) and three rolls of tie down straps.

Tool roll. Dont get me started about the poxy tool kit you get with a $30,000 motorcycle. Christ, at least my old Z1300 had a chromed tool kit!

Piece of inner tube from a Quad bike. This stuff is good for protecting frames from vibrating panniers or just wrapping tyre levers in.

Dish cloth and J-cloth for canteen set.

Another black pannier liner with the following laid on top:- Notebook, leatherman, hockey or fabric tape (duct tape is only good at certain warm temperatures), bicycle pump, Whistle (no I don't intend to referee anything up north), 15m of climbing tape (good in conjunction with a thermarest to make an inflatable splint..yes I've had to do it for a client's leg in minus 30 and get them 20 miles out of the wilderness before you ask) and a bush knife (no, it doesn't need to look like Crocodile Dundees knife, any blade longer than the width of you palm is overkill).

Frank Thomas Aquapack trousers. Dead sexy but if anyone knows how to make something waterproof it's the English.right?

Tyre levers wrapped in inner tubing.

Wind up dynamo torch.

Goggles.

Well that's it. I'll be taking photos and sending you all a trip report when I get back in August.

Happy riding to you all