May 18th.. I am off to Ireland..
I started planning this trip about 6 months, although the idea for a round the world motorcycle trip was conceived over 38 years ago.
Planning for this trip has been a monumental task.
After nearly 40 years of working, I finally took the decision in March to retire from my job with the government of Canada. No more the tedious life of a civil servant for me.
My house in Ottawa that I have lived in over the last 20 years and where I raised two young kids as a single father has now been sold.
It was a simple enough decision to sell my home, with my children grown up and now on their own, it was time to downsize and with home prices starting to fall off in the Ottawa area it made financial sense to sell my property at this time. Caring for and having to maintain a home while away travelling was something I did not want to have to deal with.
Most of my belongings or those items which I wanted to keep will be placed in storage. Much of my other stuff is being sold off or donated to charity. I am not one of those people who get emotionally attached to their possessions.
I am a minimalist, the less stuff I have the less encumbered my life feels.
Come next week after the movers come by, the house will be an empty shell waiting for the next home owner to take possession.
My BMW motorcycle that I will be using on this journey around the world is scheduled to be shipped over to Dublin Ireland on May 17th. The good folks over at Air Canada have started a promotional program called “Fly Your Bike”.
Under this program motorcyclists can now fly their motorcycles from North America to Europe, or to any of those cities in Europe serviced by their wide bodied aircraft, this includes Frankfort, Paris, London and Dublin Ireland. Normally Air Canada Cargo charges anywhere from $1800 to $2000.00 to have a motorcycle transported to Europe. Under this new Air Canada “Fly Your Bike” it will cost me half that amount. I take back all those nasty comments I have about Air Canada over the years. They are now my new favorite airline.
As this service is not provided by Air Canada out of Ottawa I will need to drop my bike off at the AC cargo terminal in Montreal. Also, since motorcycles are considered as dangerous goods, I need to have a dangerous goods company vet my motorcycle and provide me with a dangerous goods document before Air Canada will accept it for shipment.
One of the caveats on Air Canada’s “Fly Your Bike” program is that you must book your passenger ticket wth them. If you don’t, then they will add on an extra $500 to the cost of shipping your bike.
I can not understand the vagaries of Air Canada’s pricing system.. I can buy a one-way ticket from Ottawa to Dublin Ireland (via Toronto) for $450. A one-way ticket from Montreal to Dublin (via London) is $1900, over 4 times the price of the Ottawa fare ??
So instead of being able to drop off my bike at the AC cargo terminal in Montreal and then flying myself to Dublin with the bike, I will need to instead find my way back to Ottawa and fly out from there, in order to take advantage of the cheaper air fare.
I have a lot of gear that I will be taking with me to support me on my journey. I was hoping that I could pack some of my equipment, motorcycling jacket, boots, camping gear etc. on the bike, but the Air Canada rep said no personal effects could be placed on the bike. I have talked to a number of other people who had their bikes shipped to Europe recently through Air Canada and they were allowed to pack their gear on their bike. Hopefully when I drop off the bike at the AC cargo terminal, the personnel there will accommodate me.
Come May 18th, hopefully I would have landed in Ireland, taken possession of my motorcycle and am riding down some backcountry lane with a big smirk on my face enjoying the start of my motorcycle trip and all those months of planning and preparation for this trip now forgotten.
Ride4Adventure 