Journey's end 2015

Home again Saturday afternoon.  It's really nice to be back and to sleep in my own bed.  It was a great trip where, except for the heat, the weather cooperated for the most part.  In the last two days of riding I pretty much resorted to the Interstate highways. The exception was a fairly long stretch on US 6 along the shore of Lake Erie from Sandusky to Cleveland, Ohio.  I took the next two pictures of bird condos and a lighthouse on the end of a jetty from a beautiful roadside park just to the West of Cleveland.

My route brought me directly through the main streets of Cleveland and Rochester, New York, and also through some depressing suburbs of both of these cities. While there are parts of Canadian cities that are somewhat rundown, I don't believe that any match the desperate state of some neighborhoods I've seen on this and previous trips to the USA. The abandoned storefronts, sometimes long rows of them on both sides of city blocks, paint a picture of hardship that is hard to turn ones eyes and thoughts from. But there are also miles of expensive mansions in places, especially waterfront properties, that speak to the affluence of a certain segment of the population. It's the contrast that jars.

Again, this year's was a great trip. At 12,278 kilometres it is the second longest motorcycle trip I've taken. I have a few people to thank for making it a success.  First, the home team that was always there atr the end of the phone to ask how things were going, to express amazement at what I was describing, and to encourage me to continue and be safe. A special thank you to the formidable research team at Coutts Communicates, Jane and phil, for providing timely advice on restaurants and sights in places I was heading to.  To Jesse, my BMW motorcycle mechanic extraordinaire, thank you for the excellent service; I only had to replace 1 riding light and add 3/4 of a litre of oil.

There were many highlights on this trip, most of which I've mentioned in earlier posts. In addition to the breathtaking scenery of Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, I would suggest the following list of places as being particularly noteworthy: the Beartooth Pass,Yellowstone Park and Old Faithful in Wyoming, Salt Lake City and the Bonneville Speedway in the Great Salt Lake Dessert of Utah, the Sonora Pass on Route 108 through the Sierra Navada Mountain Range, Monterey and Santa Monica in California. stretches of Route 66 in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the Cadillac Farm (and its lesser known cousin the Volkswagen Farm), and Santa Fe.

I hope you have liked the ride, I certainly have enjoyed having you along.


Here are a few bits of summary information:

26 days, July 7 to August 1, 2015

12, 278 kilometres, or 7,629 miles

588.34 litres of gas ($696)

20 states visited

3 state capital buildings visited (Salt Lake City, Utah; Sante Fe, New Mexico; Jefferson City, Missouri

20 hotel, motel, inn rooms (and 1 private residence - thank you Jean-Yves and Candace)

Take care.