It's nice to have fun and be able to document it but it is also very important to prepare for the unexpected specially when riding alone in remote areas. One can never be too prepared for a trip of this magnitude. Covering so many miles in remote areas where cell towers are non-existent is a little daunting. I am an AMA member and they offer roadside assistance even in Canada but first you have to get in touch with them. I have purchased GEOS MEDIVAC insurance which offers life-saving medical evacuation and emergency assistance including repatriation to a place close to home. All these programs are good but you still have to get in touch with someone, and when out of cell phone signal the best way is to use SPOT. The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger provides a vital line of communication with friends and family when you want it, and emergency assistance when you need it. The SPOT system provides Check-in/OK and allows you to keep in touch with family by letting them receive custom pre-programmed messages. The SPOT lets them know you are okay and where you are by giving your location in Google Maps. Your family and friends can keep track of your progress as well. In the event of a life threatening situation you simply activate the SOS emergency services of your GPS location and that you need assistance. The SPOT service combined with the GEOS insurance gives you peace of mind in case of a critical emergency.
AMA here
GEOS MEDIVAC here
SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger here
The second item I received this week was the GoPro HD Hero2. The little camera will be used to document the trip by capturing the scenery while I'm riding. This little jewel is waterproof to 197′ (60m), does an amazing job of capturing professional full 170ยบ wide angle 1080p or 720p videos and 11 megapixel photos at a rate of 10 photos per second. Now all I have to do is find a spot to mount the camera on my bike.
GoPro HD Hero2 here
To record the movies on the GoPro I bought a SanDisk Extreme SDHC 32GB SD card which has the speed and capacity to record up to 4 hours of 1080p video.
