EPILOUGE

EPILOUGE - July 6th, 2008

Hi Everyone,

A big thank you to all of you who read this blog and posted comments along the way. It was very helpful to know that there were people supporting us in this way.

I would also like to thank Karen, Shannon, Matt, Rory and little Findley for their support in this endeavor.

It was an incredible ride with lots of adventure and wonderful sights to see. Karen was a real trooper and we made a great team working together on routes, destinations, loading and unloading the bike, etc. Karen never once complained and in fact has exclaimed that this was one of the best vacations we have ever had! I’ll second that!

I remember feeling a bit apprehensive before leaving not knowing what to expect and how I would deal with the different cultures and people I would encounter along the way. It wasn’t long into the trip before I realized that my fears in this regard were unfounded and the only things I really had to worry about was keeping the bike upright and finding a place to sleep at the end of each day.

All the other travelers and locals I talked to throughout the trip were friendly, helpful and very interested in the ride that Karen and I were doing. There were a few times I got the comment “You’re a long way from home”, and at the time, we were!

Our favorite sights and areas were:

Southern Utah around Bryce, Capitol Reef and Moab.
Nashville
Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive in N.C. and VA

Gettysburg, PA
Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada
Upper Peninsula, MI
Wall Drug, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, all in SD.

I have already been asked if I would do it again. The answer is a resounding YES! Although, I would go to some different states further south like Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, etc. And, I would definitely return to Southern Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and South Dakota, among other places.

There is so much to see and do in the US! Get out there and hit the road!

Now, onto the statistics.

Total Miles Ridden: 9,204.5

Number of states visited (not counting WA): Dave - 21, Karen 12. We also were in the Canadian Provence of Ontario for 2 days.
Total Driving Time: 163 hours
Average Speed: 56.4
Number of Fill-ups: 67 – approx.
Total Gallons of Gas: 221 – approx.
Average Cost of Gallon of Gas: $3.95 – keep in mind that I started over a month ago and the price of gas kept going up while during the trip.
Total Cost for Gas: $905.00 - approx.

In regards to the stats for fuel, I use approximately because while the numbers are accurate, I did lose (only), a couple of receipts for fill-ups. The numbers you see above are the minimums.


The other numbers are directly from the GPS and those are accurate.

As regards to the Maximum Speed you seen in the picture, I forgot to tell the story about that earlier in the trip.

When I was going through Salt Lake City I stopped in at Honda World (http://www.hondaworldslc.com), a large Goldwing dealer and had them temporarily install a turbocharger on my bike.

I then went out to Bonneville Salt flats and ran several 2 mile time trials across the lake. It took nearly all of the 2 miles to get up to that max speed of 238 MPH and it took almost another 2 miles to come to a stop. That’s why I had to have new brakes and tires installed when I got to Chapel Hill, NC. My previous top speed on a motorcycle was 150MPH on the race track on my FZ1. Attaining a top speed of 238 MPH was a real thrill!

You’re probably thinking, “Where will Dave go next?” Stay tuned ‘cause I got the wanderlust bug now!!

Lastly, let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks again to everyone and have a wonderful summer!

Love,
Dave and Karen