So, here are some final thoughts that come to mind when reflecting on the trip as a whole. First off, I can't even begin to describe the feeling of accomplishment I have, especially when I look at the map to retrace my tracks. I went so far and saw so much, it's kind of surreal. I think the highlight for me other than the natural beauty had to be the people I met along the way. Being on your own on the road can be a very lonely experience which is why despite my introverted nature I was always happy to strike up a conversation with a stranger. Like, for example, the friendly couple outside Grand Teton NP who were impressed how far I had come just to see the park, or the other motorcyclist I met at an Iowa gas station who was on his way to Alaska (Apparently he has ridden through every state but Hawaii and Kansas, go figure). In Northern California I met two brothers from Ohio who were doing a National Parks tour in their camper. We ended up at the same campground for the night, and they shared their potato soup with me in exchange for some of my stories. Another interesting person I met was the 73 year old British gentleman who after seeing my Triumph excitedly came over to show me pictures of the one from the 60s that he had fixed up like new. He used to race them professionally, but was now spending his retirement touring the states in a rented RV. Also, while camping in Yosemite there was a family from Salt Lake City at the site adjacent to me who to my good fortune decided to take me in. They fed me turkey burgers with "frysauce" (ketchup mixed with mayonnaise, its a Utah thing) and served me their last two PBRs, which hit the spot like you wouldn't believe. Then, while we waited for dessert to cook in the dutch oven, we sat by the fire and discussed the immeasurable value of the National Parks. Rob, Peggy and their daughter Mirra were all so friendly, they made the night I spent in Yosemite a memorable one.
Speaking of strangers and the power of kindness, I've been wanting to elaborate on what I found to be the pleasant surprise of the trip: couch surfing. I have always been aligned with the concept in theory. That is, offer your couch to a stranger passing through your town when you can, and someone will do the same for you when the time comes. Kind of like the "take a penny, leave a penny" tray, but with beds. In a perfect world it seems like a very efficient and methodical way to secure lodging. In the real world though, there are definitely concerns that come up, like "will I wake up in a bath tub full of ice?" I admit I was a little tentative going in, but after my first experience I was blown away by how great it was. At first I thought maybe it was just a fluke, that I just got lucky that my host happened to be super cool (which she was). Well, it turns out that my next host was super cool too, as well as the one after that. Every one of them was just so unbelievably accommodating and generous, and genuinely fun to hang around with. Not only that, but they were all of these things with no expectation of anything in return. Total faith in karma that what goes around comes around. Since then it has kind of dawned on me that I consistently met such cool people via couchsurfing because it takes a certain type of person to invite a stranger into your home on faith alone. With that in mind I'm really excited to do my part and host surfers of my own, not to mention to meet interesting new people, and to be a footnote in each of their adventures.
If I had to pick a low point of the trip, the obvious choice would be catching mono. As much as that did suck, the mono itself was bearable. It was the fact that it caused me to miss Florida and Savannah that still really bothers me. I don't know that I'll ever have the chance to see the gulf coast, let alone to motorcycle it, so that was certainly tough to swallow. Not only that, but my best laid plans to visit all of my East coast friends were literally obliterated. Still, I did really enjoy Asheville, Charlottesville and DC even though I was a shell of a man while there. I'm hoping that one day I can return to see the foliage in Shanendoah NP, sans mono. The ride from DC to CT, however, can only be described as frustrating. I paid $40 in tolls to have the privilege of sitting in New York traffic in the scorching heat. Eight hours later getting off the familiar exit to Wallingford was a cathartic moment. I was finally home.
About mid way through the trip I noticed that people stopped commenting on the fact that I was from Massachusetts. I realized it was probably because my license plate had picked up so much dirt and filth that it was hard to read at a distance. Bonnie was such a grimey mess by the end, I had to spend two and a half hours on my back scrubbing the grease off her rims and tailpipes. It was worth it though because in the end she looked like new.
5 weeks of accumulated filth.
Bonnie after her bath. Sparkle Sparkle.
For those of you who like numbers, here's a quick summary of my trip by the numbers.
Gas fill ups: A lot (>100)
Average mpg: ~50
Total miles (to date): 9391
Bacterial illnesses contracted: 2
Viral illnesses contracted: 1
Max temp: 109 deg F
Min temp: 45 deg F
Western most point: Eureka, CA
Northern most point: Portland, OR
Southern most point: Houston, TX
States visited: 26 (MA, CT, NY, PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, CO, WY, ID, OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, NC, VA, MD, DE, NJ)
Oil changes: 1
Couches surfed: 4
National Parks visited: 5
The reason I came back.
And with that, I officially close out this blog, and declare my cross country adventure a success. I now relinquish it to the bowels of the internet where it will float through the ether from now until eternity.Cheers!
