Epilogue

Following are some summary facts:

11,708 - total miles logged
10,992 - total miles for all legs

267 - total hours riding all legs

31 days of riding, 60 days of travel. Left May 5th, 2014, returned July 4th, 2014.

Average riding day, 355 miles, 8 1/2 hours.

Visited 29 states and 5 Canadian Provinces.

Following are some anecdotes:

I thought about carrying a gun on this trip. I learned that a friendly smile was enough.

Everyone I met, I interacted with or came in contact with was a nice person. Not one person was unkind the entire two months. I didn't meet one person I felt threatened by, not even close.

There are no wimps living in Canada.

Hand soap is as good as shaving cream.

I didn't need anything I left at home.

I didn't miss anything I left at home.

Staying in touch with family and friends is important, vital to survival.

This country is HUGE!!!!

Leg 31 - Rio Dell, CA to Novato, CA (Final Leg)

I left the motel at Rio Dell at 5:30 am for the final leg of this tour. I will be posting an epilogue with a summary of the trip, mileage, etc.

The motel was at the northern end of the Avenue of The Giants, a grove of redwoods surrounded by the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The ride through the redwood forest was spectacular although it did get a bit chilly. When I left the motel it was 56 degrees, but dropped to 46 when I got into the thick of the redwoods.

I took Hwy 101 until I got to the Hwy 1 cutoff and then took Hwy 1 to the coast. I have ridden Hwy 1 along the entire west coast of the US and that stretch of Hwy 1 is the most twisty I have encountered. I had to slow to almost a crawl on one turn.

The coast was blanketed in heavy fog. I stopped in Fort Bragg for breakfast and put on my rain jacket the fog was so thick.

The ride down the coast was nice. There is something about the Northern California Coast that has always been a heart tug for me. It is rugged with sheer cliffs and huge rocks.

I took Hwy 1 to just south of Mendocino where I picked up Hwy 128, my favorite local ride. I had never ridden it was west to east. I usually take it from east to west, eat breakfast in Mendocino and then take Hwy 1 all the way back to where I can connect with back roads into Novato.

Hwy 128 did not disappoint. Once a few miles inland, the fog cleared and the sun dappled through the redwoods. A beautiful site when riding.

Hwy 128 connects back with Hwy 101 at Cloverdale, CA. There I took Hwy 101 back to Novato. It was congested with the early 4th of July traffic.

I arrived back at my home in Novato, CA around 11:30.

Overall, 258 miles and right at 6 hours.

Leg 31 - Rio Dell, CA to Novato, CA (Final Leg)

I sure am glad we are a free nation. Happy Fourth of July to all!!!!

Leg 30 - Eugene, OR to Rio Dell, CA

Left Eugene, OR at 5:40 am after spending two days with a long time friend, Vickie.

Vickie offered to show me a little of the Eugene, OR area. We drove East out of Eugene on Hwy 126 with the plan of connecting with the Old McKenzie Highway. Along Hwy 126 I saw my first covered bridge in person, the Goodpasture Covered Bridge.

Goodpasture Covered Bridge, OR

We took a couple of short hikes, one to a beautiful waterfall just off of the Old McKenzie Highway.

Waterfall off of Old McKenzie Hwy

I took Interstate 5 from Eugene, OR to Grants Pass, OR. It was some of the most beautiful Interstate riding I have made on this trip. However, I decided to take secondary roads the rest of the trip back to Novato, CA. I took Hwy 199 from Grants Pass, OR to Crescent City, CA. Hwy 199 was absolutely gorgeous and a great motorcycle road. It has lots of tight twisties posted at a maximum of 35mph.

I reached Crescent City, CA and took the following photo when reaching the Pacific Ocean to document the event.

Crescent City, CA

My plan was to ride to Eureka, CA and find a motel. I arrived in Eureka, CA around 1pm, ate lunch and decided to push on. I didn't make it very far.

I simply ran out of energy around 3:15 and began looking for the closest motel. I checked into the Humboldt Gabels Motel in Rio Dell, CA and immediately took a 2 hour nap.

Overall, 345 miles and 9 1/2 hours.

Leg 30 - Eugene, OR to Rio Dell, CA

Tomorrow is the last leg of the trip. I am a short 250 miles from Novato, CA.

Leg 29 - Seattle, WA to Eugene, OR

Left Seattle at 6:40 am, Tuesday July 1st after spending five great days visiting with my elder daughter Katie and site seeing the Seattle, WA area. It was 62 degrees with the predicted weather clear, sunny and hot.

Katie threw a 'USA Four Corners' celebration party. She invited her 'peeps' to come over for a Sunday BBQ. We cooked burgers, sausages and fresh salmon, drank a few beers and had a fun time. One of her friends had a 1958 Harley Davidson Panhead chopper. A beautiful bike shown in the photo below:

1958 HD Panhead

Katie loves to ride and we went out on a local excursion. We took a ferry from Edmonds, WA to Kingston, rode to Bainbridge Island where we had lunch and then took a ferry into Seattle, WA.

Katie and I on Seattle Ferry

One thing of interest is when taking a motorcycle on the Washington Ferries, motorcycles go to the front of the passenger cars. When we arrived at the ferry terminal we bought a ticket and were told to ride around the cars to the head of the line where we were the first to board. We were also the first to exit. Nice. Thank you Washington!

Edmonds Ferry

The ride to Eugene, OR was uneventful. I rode Interstate 5 until I was south of Portland, OR. There I decided I had enough of the freeway and rode the backroads to Hwy 99 and Hwy 99 into Eugene. The predicted weather had a high of mid 90's the entire route.

I stopped frequently to drink water and pour some on my neck to keep cool. I stopped in Monroe, OR to eat lunch at a local place named the Longbranch Bar and Grill. It was 'Taco Tuesday' and they served up huge soft tacos for $1.50 each. I could only manage to eat two they were so big. The World Cup game between USA and Belgium was on the TV. I left at halftime.

I arrived in Eugene around 2:45. I will be staying at a friends house for two nights and leaving on Thursday, July 3rd.

Overall, 326 miles and just over 8 hours.

Leg 29 - Seattle, WA to Eugene, OR

I can feel myself getting close to home. I have visited Eugene, OR many times in the last 40 years. It is an easy one day drive by car.