Epilogue

This is a compilation of the actual track files generated from the GPS, sort of giving the "Big Picture" for the trip. 

Well, I've had a few days to reflect on the trip.  I think the thing that sticks out the most in my mind is how quickly the time went by.  It seems like just yesterday I was leaving home.

Here are a few graphs that show elevation gain during different segments of the trip

Here is one of the Blue Ridge Parkway

This is Florida, flat as a pancake

Here is from Arizona to the Pacific Coast, going through Death Valley.

And finally here is Wyoming

The middle flatter segment would be West Yellowstone, where all the snow was.

I'm sure some of you are wondering how much this whole trip cost, yeah I know you're curious (I know I'd be if I were you).  Here's how it broke down for me (in Canadian dollars).  Motorcycle maintenance includes rear tire and motor oil (including gear oil and filters I bought in Quebec for maintenance after the trip).

The key element for me regarding hotel rooms was to get one with a coffee maker in the room.  this eliminated the "Motel 6" level of motel.  My favourite ones were the Holiday Inn Express, least favourite were Best Western and Super 8 (these were generally older and in need of some major renovations).  Exception to this was the Best Western in Ridgecrest California, which was a nice one.  I've also learned that when hotels advertise "Free wireless high speed internet" usually it doesn't work.  The ones that had an ethernet port in the rooms would tend to work well.

Reflections on various gadgets

1. GPS, an invaluable instrument for this trip.  While I don't feel GPS technology has advanced to the point where it can replace paper maps, it sure does make things a lot easier.  I found it was useful to know approximately how much distance I needed to travel between two points and then I'd let the GPS do the calculations.  If the GPS was pretty close to what I thought it should be, I knew I could trust it.  I didn't use the 'routing' function at all.  Rather, I'd use the FIND button to make my way to various waypoints I had put in the night before.  The "route" feature doesn't work well for me, as often the GPS will try to make you do shortcuts to arrive at your final destination quicker.  Another fun feature of the GPS is the trip computer feature, where it calculates average speeds, altitude, as well as estimated time of arrival at your final destination.  This last thing really helps you to plan what you have time to do while on the road, for instance take a short nap or visit something a bit out of the way.  The power supply to the GPS is a power cord hardwired to the bike and rechargeable batteries for when it is off the bike (in the hotel room to download new maps and waypoints).  During the 3 weeks, I didn't have to recharge the batteries at all.

2. Minidisc Player, this is certainly a great thing to be able to enjoy tunes while on the road.  In years past I've experimented with a lot of different music devices and the best I've come up with are the custom-made earplug / headset combo.  The music is crystal clear and the earplugs kill off road noise enough to be able to listen to music at the same volume that I'd use in the house.  The earplugs did irritate my ears during the trip.  At first I thought it was an infection, then I thought it was pressure sores, but my last theory is that the irritation was caused by friction.  Usually I would lubricate the plugs with spit (yeah, I know), and this would be fine for a few hours, but I think after a while, the lubrication goes away and the silicone rubs away at the sensitive skin inside the ears.  After I started lubricating them with an antibiotic ointment, the problem quickly resolved.  At the end of the trip, I tried going back to spit, and after a long day, I could feel the irritation coming back.  I think that if I had to do the trip over again, I'd invest in some type of I-POD device to carry all my tunes at once and just select playlists.  The 11 minidiscs I brought along took a fair amount of space in the tankbag and it wasn't always practical to change them in the rain after 5 hours or so.

3. Radio.  I brought along an AM / FM / weather radio so I could listen to some local broadcasting during the ride.  It never made it out of the saddlebags, as I was enjoying the music I brought too much.

4. Digital Camera.  I use the Canon PowerShot S230.  It is very small and has a 3.2 Meg CCD.  I have a 256 Meg CF card but never used more than 20 megs or so at a time, as I'd download my pictures every night.  If this camera were to break today, I'd probably buy the same one again.  It served well, and as mentioned, it has a very small size.

5. Electric Vest.  I use the Widder system with the arm chaps.  While it is a low-draw system, a few times I was wishing for a bit more power from it.  Of course, I could have stopped by the side of the road an put on another layer of clothing over it and it would have probably been fine, but hey, I'm lazy when it comes to stuff like that.

6. Aerostitch suit.  I use the Roadcrafter one piece.  This was one of the better investments.  While the cost is substantial, it is so well engineered that it virtually removes all clothing-related annoyances and offers good crash protection to boot.  It has proven to be waterproof except once in Georgia, after a very nasty downpour in a stop-and-go situation.  I ended up the day with a mildly wet groin.

7. Helmet.  I really enjoyed being able to flip it up to be better able to take roadside pictures, talk to people and eat snacks.  The one I used (HJC Symax) isn't nearly as comfortable for my head as the ARAI I had before, and it is much noisier.  Nonetheless, the convenience of the flip-up design outweighs the annoyances I have with it.  Plus, it's a reasonably cheap helmet compared to others out there.

8. Camelback.  I don't think I could have done the warmer spots comfortably without this.  I didn't use it much later in the trip.  It seems I would wear one or the other, camelback or electric vest, depending on the temperature.

9. Tires, okay, not a gadget, but I'm putting it in here anyways.  The Metzeler Marathons served well during the trip.  I analysed tire wear and have noticed that the second one has worn quite a bit faster than the first one.  I think this has something to do with riding on wet roads.  The days where tread depth went down the most were days where there was more wet weather.  I think on wet roads, there is constant minute slippage that wears things down a lot faster.  The front tire is still looking good after over 21 000 km, no cupping whatsoever.  I'll change it at the same time as the rear, though, because I'm going back to Tourances after the trip, as they are much better on dirt roads.

Other reflections;

I really feel fortunate for having had the opportunity to do this trip.  Finding a replacement at work was one of the big things about this.  The main one, of course was Hélène.  While I know this trip was a result of negotiations last Fall, I'm very grateful to her for letting me go on this (selfish, I guess) trip.  While she did get to go to Europe while I was away, she really doesn't like travel by plane and I know it wasn't easy for her.  She could have made me feel really guilty about the trip, but she didn't, even though the 3 weeks was certainly a lot harder for her than for me.  That really made it easier for me to enjoy myself.  Thanks Hélène !

The more it's sinking in, the happier I am about the trip.  It is by far the biggest one I've taken and it will register as the best bike trip of my life.  If I could complain about one thing, I think it would be the bike.  Touring by motorcycle is supposed to be an adventure, with ups and downs and some grief thrown into the mix.  The bike was extremely reliable and didn't let me down at all.  Somewhere deep inside me I was kind of hoping for a little breakdown in the middle of nowhere just to add that element of adventure to the trip and to be able to complain about the hardship I suffered.  It was almost too easy.  On the other hand, I'm extremely pleased that I managed to do the whole thing without a single speeding ticket, no accidents, no near-misses, no bike-dropping and no mechanical failures.  In all respects it was a great trip.

If someone is contemplating doing the 4 corners tour, and would like some additional information, you can contact me here:  bobbo29@hotmail.com

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