Epilogue: The sum is greater than the parts.

I have added photos to most of the blog entries going back to 8/1/2010 - if you don't get the email updates. you may want to visit the blog. I've also uploaded all of my photos to my photobucket account (link on the left ... in 2010_BigWestern).

This was a great trip! Thanks to Paul, Chuck and Ron for making it so. Also, thanks to Deb and Abbie for places to stay, and to Fred's Honda in Corvallis for changing out that crappy Avon Storm rear tire on short notice.

We covered just under 6500 miles, in Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. We didn't make it to Banff, but we got to hike in Glacier, Yellowstone, Portland and Helena. Temperatures ranged from a low of 41F in Yellowstone to a high of 99F in the deserts of eastern Oregon. Saw lots of roadkill, including a horse. Horses were included in the living, too, of course, along with bears (black and grizzly), elk, deer, antelope, and lots of thrill-seeking chipmunks running into the road in front of us.

We had no accidents and kept the rubber side down the whole trip. We had three bike-related equipment failures: The short-lived Avon Storm rear, the defective Avon Storm front, and Paul's exhaust bracket breaking. Otherwise the machines performed extremely well, providing comfortable and reliable transportation yet responding telepathically to our inputs when pushed close to the limits in northern California.

Which brings me to the question of high's and low's of the trip.

The 'low' would definitely be the hail storm in Wyoming. But what is the "high" ? If I were to list a single item, it would be getting a day and a half to ride the awesome roads between Redding, Eureka and Yreka in California. A close second would be our hike in Glacier. But on a trip like this, the sum is greater than the parts. Looking back there are so many excellent things experienced in the context of the whole which elevates their value. For example, while the roads in California were awesome, they were bracketed by a day of blasting through the hot and dry desert, and a ride up the a mild coastline.

The riding, scenery and all that is one thing. There's also the comaradiere experienced in our group. In particular, Paul and I had lots of time to think about a new business venture. We're still working on the details and feasibility, so I won't say much about it at this time.

Now the planning starts for next year's trip .. initial thoughts are to the northeast.