I’M HOME
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
THE JOURNEY IS OVER! (whew!)
27 states and 2 provinces. 12897 miles and I don’t want to know what it cost. Would I do it again? You bet – but give me a chance to rest first! And I’ll need some new gear, along with getting all the “quirks” fixed on the bike. I’m really getting tired of the clunk sound when shifting, but it’s a common trait on goldwings. The fuel gauge still doesn’t work right. When I started, it never read less than ½ full. One time during the trip, I hit the brake real hard, and then it started showing ¼ full after about 50 miles. All I know is I start looking for gas after about 150 miles. That kept me safe.
I know it’s silly, and I have nothing to prove to anyone other than myself, but this gave me a great deal of satisfaction and accomplishment. After the first day on the trip I was feeling that this was something that maybe I shouldn’t have tackled. Maybe I bit off more than I could chew. Just look at a map of the US and try to understand the magnitude of what was accomplished. I tried not to because it made me feel it was too much to handle, but take it one day at a time, and break it down to LOTS of little trips – and it’s much more manageable. I’m now looking for an encore. The IBA has a 48-10 trip. All 48 states in 10 days. I think I need a LOT of rest first.
I wish everyone could have the opportunity to experience what I did. To have the clear view of what’s in front of them, to the side of them, and the top; to not have it muddied up with a roof or pillars holding the windshield in front of you and blowing the A/C in your face. To be able to smell the land that you pass through; be it the surf in the Keys or west coast, the pine trees in upstate New York or Oregon, or even the smell of fertilizer being sprayed in Quebec or Minnesota. To know that you conquered the cold in Maine, or the heat in Arizona, or the rain in Louisiana. Even to be able to walk the mountains in California and Wyoming, or to descend the Caverns in New Mexico. I hope everyone would have a chance to really see how large this country is and to understand that there is much more than the city or the suburbs we all reside in.
Agriculture is king is this country, and I never really understood how much so until after this trip. Whether it’s crops or ranching, everything relies on what we can get to eat, and I was not only surprised, but impressed by how much hard work is being done by so many people that we never get to know. I know I said it before, but I was just astounded by how we can flood fields in the desert to grow the crops that we all enjoy. Unfortunately, as reported in this morning’s paper, one in every four farmers is over the age of 65, with very few young folks starting fresh.
I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed blogging it. Thanks to Karen for the idea. Thanks also goes to the people I stayed with for putting up with me. To Charlie in Orlando and his room-mate Brian for the use of his bed. To Ron and Nancy Adams in Yuma and to my cousin Brian and his wife Else in Port Townsend, WA. Also to Corky and Kathy Linfoot in Santa Barbara for dinner, and to Bonnie for the nightly comments, and last but not least, to Jen & Greg in Chicago. Thanks to everyone for following my adventure – it was a pleasure to have you all along.
And as always; to my lovely wife – “THANKS WEEZ. YOU’RE THE BEST!!!”
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
THE JOURNEY IS OVER! (whew!)
27 states and 2 provinces. 12897 miles and I don’t want to know what it cost. Would I do it again? You bet – but give me a chance to rest first! And I’ll need some new gear, along with getting all the “quirks” fixed on the bike. I’m really getting tired of the clunk sound when shifting, but it’s a common trait on goldwings. The fuel gauge still doesn’t work right. When I started, it never read less than ½ full. One time during the trip, I hit the brake real hard, and then it started showing ¼ full after about 50 miles. All I know is I start looking for gas after about 150 miles. That kept me safe.
I know it’s silly, and I have nothing to prove to anyone other than myself, but this gave me a great deal of satisfaction and accomplishment. After the first day on the trip I was feeling that this was something that maybe I shouldn’t have tackled. Maybe I bit off more than I could chew. Just look at a map of the US and try to understand the magnitude of what was accomplished. I tried not to because it made me feel it was too much to handle, but take it one day at a time, and break it down to LOTS of little trips – and it’s much more manageable. I’m now looking for an encore. The IBA has a 48-10 trip. All 48 states in 10 days. I think I need a LOT of rest first.
I wish everyone could have the opportunity to experience what I did. To have the clear view of what’s in front of them, to the side of them, and the top; to not have it muddied up with a roof or pillars holding the windshield in front of you and blowing the A/C in your face. To be able to smell the land that you pass through; be it the surf in the Keys or west coast, the pine trees in upstate New York or Oregon, or even the smell of fertilizer being sprayed in Quebec or Minnesota. To know that you conquered the cold in Maine, or the heat in Arizona, or the rain in Louisiana. Even to be able to walk the mountains in California and Wyoming, or to descend the Caverns in New Mexico. I hope everyone would have a chance to really see how large this country is and to understand that there is much more than the city or the suburbs we all reside in.
Agriculture is king is this country, and I never really understood how much so until after this trip. Whether it’s crops or ranching, everything relies on what we can get to eat, and I was not only surprised, but impressed by how much hard work is being done by so many people that we never get to know. I know I said it before, but I was just astounded by how we can flood fields in the desert to grow the crops that we all enjoy. Unfortunately, as reported in this morning’s paper, one in every four farmers is over the age of 65, with very few young folks starting fresh.
I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed blogging it. Thanks to Karen for the idea. Thanks also goes to the people I stayed with for putting up with me. To Charlie in Orlando and his room-mate Brian for the use of his bed. To Ron and Nancy Adams in Yuma and to my cousin Brian and his wife Else in Port Townsend, WA. Also to Corky and Kathy Linfoot in Santa Barbara for dinner, and to Bonnie for the nightly comments, and last but not least, to Jen & Greg in Chicago. Thanks to everyone for following my adventure – it was a pleasure to have you all along.
And as always; to my lovely wife – “THANKS WEEZ. YOU’RE THE BEST!!!”
For those of you with a geek streak inside screaming to get out – here is a list of when and where I was along with the miles ridden:
Day Date City, St Miles Mileage
Tues 5/22 Mentor, OH 59,416
Tues 5/22 Schroon Lake, NY 469 59,885
Wed 5/23 Madawaska, ME 475 60,360
Thur 5/24 Albany, NY 637 60,997
Fri 5/25 Roanoke, VA 604 61,601
Sat 5/26 Jacksonville, FL 616 62,217
Sun 5/27 Key West, FL 522 62,739
Mon 5/28 Orlando, FL 408 63,147
Tue 5/29 Orlando, FL
Wed 5/30 DeFuniak Springs, FL 415 63,562
Thur 5/31 Beaumont, TX 540 64,102
Fri 6/01 Ozona, TX 504 64,606
Sat 6/02 Whites City, NM 294 64,900
Sun 6/03 Tombstone, AZ 464 65,364
Mon 6/04 Yuma, AZ 310 65,674
Tues 6/05 Upland, CA 357 66,031
Wed 6/06 San Simeon, CA 300 66,331
Thur 6/07 Buellton, CA 115 66,446
Fri 6/08 Buellton, CA 198 66,644
Sat 6/09 Oakhurst, CA 335 66,979
Sun 6/10 Red Bluff, CA 359 67,338
Mon 6/11 Woodland, WA 513 67,851
Tues 6/12 Blaine, WA 270 68,121
Tues 6/12 Ferndale, WA 20 68,141
Wed 6/13 Port Townsend, WA 91 68,232
Thurs 6/14 Hood River, OR 326 68,558
Fri 6/15 Baker City, OR 247 68,805
Sat 6/16 Twin Falls, ID 271 69,076
Sun 6/17 Pocatello, ID 128 69,204
Mon 6/18 Pocatello, ID
Tues 6/19 Jackson, WY 140 69,344
Wed 6/20 Jackson, WY
Thur 6/21 Jackson, WY
Fri 6/22 Jackson, WY
Sat 6/23 Jackson, WY
Sun 6/24 Jackson, WY
Mon 6/25 Jackson, WY 966 70,170
Tues 6/26 Cody, WY 187 70,357
Wed 6/27 Spearfish, SD 500 70,857
Thurs 6/28 Worthington, MN 484 71,341
Fri 6/29 Chicago, IL 545 71,886
Sat 6/30 Chicago, IL
Sun 7/01 Mentor, OH 397 72,283
Total Miles on Trip 12,867
So that’s it! I guess I have to go out and find myself a paycheck now. For me and my Goldwing – thanks for being with me, and until my next journey:
SO LONG EVERYONE!!!
MATT
No comments:
Post a Comment