Vaccination overload

Researching the plentiful and deadly diseases we may encounter during our round the world trip, I went to the International Travel Clinic in Calgary.

The appointment took nearly two months to book and the paperwork said there would be a charge for the services, plus some fees for the vaccinations.

So it turns out we need seven vaccinations for the trip. Many of the vaccinations need several doses (three or four) over a period of a few weeks.

After spending an hour with the nurse, going over how nasty these diseases are, we got to the vaccination part. This is where the big surprise came in.

I expected the fees to be pretty reasonable. She started with a flu vaccine. $30. No problem.

Then Japanese ensephalitus (I'm not even trying to spell that correctly). $80. No problem.

Then they started getting a little bit crazy.

"Ok, this vaccine is $145 per dose and you need three doses", the nurse said.

Gulp!

"And this one is $110 per dose and you need four of them", she continued.

Gulp!

So I left the travel clinic with five injections and a bill for $500. Talk about a double pain!

All in the vaccinations will put me back about $1200. A far cry from the $150 or so I was expecting to pay for my needle visit.

urgh.

More to come...

I am not a biker

When Dylan came up with the idea to ride motorcycles around the world, I had never ridden one before (save for one frightful time on the back of his sportbike). I disliked bikes and I disliked most yahoos wearing what I call, safety T-shirts or safety hoodies. Worse, I hate it when I see a guy riding in race leathers with his girlfriend on the back in a t-shirt - or less. I still hate those things, but now I know there are many people who have the right attitude toward riding.

So now I'm starting to look back at the past two years of planning this RTW trip on a motorcycle. I've learned to ride a motorcycle, I've become a gear whore and am on my fourth motorcycle jacket (found the right one this time!) and I still am bothered.

I am still not a biker, and that makes me sad.

As I've gotten to know more and more people in the motorcycle community, I've grown to appreciate their cultures. I've seen three major types. Sportbike, Adventure and Cruiser. Each of these cultures has their unique characteristics, yet they are all part of a larger family of bikers.

What's amazed me is how incredibly awesome these people are and how much they care for the community and one another. Over the past two years I've met some of the most generous and giving people around. I mean people that would give you their last can of beans out camping sort of folks.

Yet I feel like I don't fit in. I don't understand why.
I suppose that from the beginning the motorcycle trip around the world was my goal, and not becoming a biker. There are some feelings I have that would show that I'm becoming one though. Last week, Dylan and I were sitting in his kitchen talking about motorcycles and an upcoming change to the trip. He said that his most recent bike called to him and that he didn't expect me to understand the connection he was building with his bike.

The thing is, I understood perfectly. I have been thinking about my bike constantly and enjoy just looking at it. Like a four year-old I make its engine sounds and pretend to ride it, even when it's nowhere in sight.

Maybe I'm a biker and don't even realize it.

Sorry for the ramble, I'm planning on doing a lot more writing and am finding this is a decent outlet for getting things down on the page.

more to come...