About a year ago I decided to take a road trip. From one end of the world’s longest road to the other. On a motorcycle. Alone.

I’m planning to leave tomorrow morning and have spent much of my time over the past year planning, choosing gear, organizing insurance for both the bike and myself, and spending more time in the travel medicine office than I would have liked. I pored over books and visited countless adventure cycling websites. I have devoted hours to reading the blogs and websites of those who have attempted this trip before. Despite all of this I feel woefully underprepared.

Perhaps that’s part of the appeal.

Even though, on some level, I know what to expect, on another level I have no idea what to expect. It is an awfully long road, after all; from above the Arctic Circle at Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, Canada to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world at the tip of Tierra del Fuego. If all goes well I’ll be putting close to 30,000 miles on the Triumph Tiger 800xc through tundra, mountains, deserts, and swamps while carrying enough clothing and gear to serve me in all of those locations. I have to carry camping gear. I’ll be carrying electronics and cameras (and the attendant mass of appropriate cables and chargers) to document the trip and stay in touch with folks back home. At the same time, there are some serious weight and space constraints. Having never attempted anything like this, I’ll be learning as I go.

With less than 24 hours until go time, I’m feeling a serious case of the nerves. At the same time, I’m excited and happy.

The easy part is behind me. The hard part starts tomorrow.