Home again! Home again! Jiguedy-jig!!

There was a bit of a homecoming at 1591 Champneuf yesterday;

and this is what it looked like when I left

Well. the odyssey is over.

I returned home yesterday afternoon at around 3:30 after riding from London; and my objective for the day was to reach home as quicly as possible without sacrificing safety or any points on my license.

It was an adventure of a lifetime that has created a large cache of memories of the places I've visited and the people I've met along the way, only a few of which I've mentionned on this blog. There are way too many interesting places and events to mention but some of the highlights include visiting with my two brothers and then riding with my older brother Gillles from Coniston to Blind River; riding under undless skies through our somewhat soggy but still beautiful prairies; staying at Steven and Alma's in Saskatoon and getting to meet a number of Alma,s family; meeting Jane in Calgary, staying at Glenda and Neil's condo in Canmore and then crossing the Rockies with her, spending some time in Vancouver meeting "Coutts family" and seeing Kim, Chris and their two boys Cam and Jake who were all caught up in World Cup excitement; riding the ferries to Vancouver Island and Port Angeles; the magnificent if often oh so impossibly twisty Pacific coastal highway from the northern tip of Washington State to San fransisco, with an interesting detour into wine country to the Napa and Sonoma valleys; magnificent Yosemite National Park; Las Vegas, where everything is so over the top; the Hoover dam, an engineering marvel; Death Valley, probably the most intense experience of the trip, the view and the HEAT; the ride through the Hopi and Navajo nations lands in the northeast part of Arizona, agin the stunning landscape; GRAND CANYON, te scale of which pictures and words can never do justuce to; the whole State of Colorado with its rich diversity from the tallest peaks, like those in Mountain National Park, to the plains in the northern part; the plain states of Nebraska and Iowa; Chicago and going for a picnic and a concert in Millenium Park with new friends Bill and Chris: crossing the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia and boasting about my motorcycle to the inquisitive CBSA agent; and finally pulling into the driveway at 1591 Champneuf and seeing Jane.

The ride was nothing short of spectacular and my BMW lived up to its reputation as probably the best touring motorcycle around. I could easily ride all day, sometimes as many as 700 kilometers and still be able to walk around afterwards. It proved to be reliable as well; the only maintenance it required was to change two riding bulbs and an oil and filter change in Palo Alto after 7300 kilometers.

There are many ways to tell the story of this journey; here are a few numbers:

Days away: 36, from June 21 to July 26

Provinces crossed: 5

States visited: 12

Kilometers riden: 13,301

Stops for gas: 45

Litres of fuel used: 625

Hotels/motels stayed at: 26

Pictures taken: 782

And I didn't counnt the number of curves in the road, but there were thousands; the number of other motorcyclists I waved at, there were a lot, especially on the coastal highway and through Colorado; and the people who, at various stops along the way, asked about the trip, some of which wishing that they could do the same, all of them wishing me a safe trip.

What is truly amazing is that, with the exception of one stretch of riding in the rain between Sault Ste Marie and Wawa, and again with Jane on a stetch in the Rockies, the weather was great throughout the trip. There were sometimes clouds and rain ahead, behind and on either side of me as I was riding, but it's as though some benevolent force was holding up an umbrella to shield me from it, doubtless it was many of you hoping and praying for my safe travels; and I thank you for that.

Many of you will have to "bear" with me as I recall thsi or that part of the trip in the weeks, months and year's ahead. I thank you in advance for your indulgence.

THE END!