completed route-profile

 

completed route

 

post trip update and pictures

updated pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/petestrippix

• 40 days
• 10,425 miles
• 45 to 51 mpg
  
• 18 states (illinois, wisconsin, minnesota, south dakota, wyoming, montana, idaho, washington, oregon, california, nevada, utah, arizona, new mexico, colorado, nebraska, kansas, missouri)
• 14 national parks (badlands, bryce canyon, crater lake, glacier, grand canyon, grand teton, great basin, great sand dunes, mount rushmore, muir woods, saguaro, white sands, yellowstone, yosemite)
• 1 new set of tires
• 0 tickets
• a lifetime of memories

day 40

i'm home!

it was a long and cold ride from the west side of kansas city, but it was worth it to get home. i hit rush hour traffic in both kansas city and chicago. i was still able to beat aLex home, though. we hung out at piece to celebrate us all being together again.

in a couple of days i will have ALL of my photos online, along with some final comments.

thanks for your support and for following me on this journey.

day 39

for 38 days i have ridden over 9000 miles alone. today, for the first time, i rode with someone else.

there were two guys, dave and ari, staying at the same campground as me. i talked to them briefly the night before but didn't plan anything for today. in the morning we discovered that we were both going the same way, so we decided to ride together. since i knew the way to the first destination, which i will get to in a minute, i lead. after that they led the rest of the way. when we stopped for lunch i found out that they were both california highway patrol (chp) officers. they are not currently motorcycle cops, but they used to be. after i found that out and was riding behind them for a while, i was amazed at how close they rode together. they would ride side by side, their mirrors only about a foot apart, even in the curves. they said that they were so used to riding that way that they didn't even think about it. it was just natural for them.

now for the destination. no road trip across the united states would be complete without a visit to the worlds largest ball of twine. it is located in cawker city, ks. there were a few shops and inn's in town, all having twine in their name.


cawker city, ks - 09/19/2006


cawker city, ks - 09/19/2006


cawker city, ks - 09/19/2006

the rest of the ride was relatively uneventful. it was not nearly as windy as yesterday and a bit warmer. from what i hear, though, it is a bit colder in chicago. i won't mind the cold as long as i am home.