We've been back home a few days now and trying to adjust back to our normal routines. Besides the jet-lag, it's been a battle for both of us to shake the feeling that we are on the road and today is going to be another adventure. Everyone was well when we got back so this trip has been a 100% success.
Our decision to do the trip in two parts was one of the best decisions we made. The cross-country would have been an achievement but would have involved many hours of interstate riding and we wouldn't have seen as much as we did. It was also great to be able to offload things we had collected into our suitcase at the half-way point and leave them in New York and start with a freshly-packed load.
In total we rode about 3,500 miles (5,600 km), 2,000 miles on the west coast and 1,500 miles on the east coast. Below are the GPS tracks for the trip courtesy of GPS Visualizer.
Tracks - West Coast
Tracks - East Coast
Equipment: Laptop
Having a laptop turned out to be brilliant. Every hotel we stayed at had free wi-fi so we could update the blog, research the area for interesting places, check bank accounts, book accommodation and send e-mail. Also updating the GPS for the next day was far easier than doing it on the device and I could back up the tracks before the log became full. I ended up not buying a SIM card for the laptop or phone because it just wasn't necessary.
Equipment: Riding Gear
The equipment we took was perfect: BMW airflow jackets, airflow riding pants, rain suits and gloves. We both just wore hiking boots which doubled as daily footwear. There was only one day that we felt a bit chilly and most of the time we were too hot. When staying more than one night in a hotel we often left the jackets at home while exploring, which I know is bad, but it was just too hot. Especially in Washington. Not taking helmets saved a lot of hassle and the rentals were perfect. We only got to use the rain suits on the last day but I would take them next time too.
Equipment: GPS
The Zumo performed really well. Occasionally it set its mind to go a particular route, other times it couldn't calculate quickly enough when I missed a turn so missed the next one too, but overall it really did a great job. I can't imaging having navigated as well as we did with just a map. We do feel a bit guilty for having used it so much instead of just exploring. Next time we may try to cover less area and enjoy the quieter roads more.
Equipment: Camera
The Canon SX120 is really a great little camera. Battery life was quite poor and I bought a battery charger in Las Vegas after which we had no problems. I must have changed the batteries 20 times during the trip. Each evening I moved the day's photos off the camera onto the laptop and backed them up.
Equipment: Helmet Cam
The ContourHD performed perfectly. I took some double-sided tape and just attached the mount to the helmet and we were good to go. In total I have 140Gb of 720/60fps footage. Not sure if I'll ever get around to making a short movie from it all, but already it is fun to watch and bring back the memories. It was nice to be able to take frames from the day's footage (although quite a mission) otherwise there wouldn't have been much to post on riding days.
Blog
It was quite an effort to keep the blog maintained, but well worth it. We now have a detailed story of our trip which would have been impossible to create at the end. Initially on the west coast, while we were still severely jet-lagged, I'd be up at 4am creating the previous day's entry, but as we got our routines a bit better I'd do it before going to sleep each night. We were very interested who was following us and every day we'd check the analytics stats (not sure how accurately they can be interpreted for users behind a proxy) and see if there were any comments. I now know that the comments form was a bit broken and very difficult to get published (my fault for not testing it thoroughly before leaving), but I think I've got it right now so if you followed us please say hi. Thanks to everyone who did.
I would have liked to include more data with each day's entry (tracks, distances, mpg, etc.) so next time will be a bit better prepared for what's involved.
U.S.A.: Roads
The road infrastructure is quite amazing: built to handle large volumes of rapidly-moving traffic. Even with the GPS it was a bit difficult to navigate. The roads can sometimes be quite bumpy as there are sections of repeatedly-repaired surface, and there are road-works everywhere, but there was never a hole so big that it was dangerous and there were many newly-surfaced stretches that were a pleasure to ride. The road markings everywhere are also superb and there were never any surprises that were dangerous.
Probably the greatest annoyance I had was the amount of traffic. I think more than half of the riding was done behind the bumper of a car. Inescapable, perpetual traffic. On the single-lane, scenic roads it wasn't even feasible to dangerously pass the slow car in front as there would just be another one around the next corner. I sometimes would pull over and wait for a decent gap and then was able to enjoy riding for a short while. The interstates/parkways/expressways/etc. are busy 24 hours a day.
U.S.A.: Food
One of the things that exceeded our expectations was the food we enjoyed. It obviously made a difference that we could afford to eat in any restaurant we chose. The variety was amazing and almost every day we were agreeing that we were having the best meal of the trip. Service was fast and efficient everywhere we ate and often the waiter/waitress would take special care of us because of our unusual accents. Prices at the fancier restaurants were about the same same as we are used to paying here for a high-end meal so were were thankful for the weak Rand. Drinking was much more expensive and it could easily cost over R100 for a round of drinks.
U.S.A.: People
The image of Americans as loud, obnoxious people was not at all realised. The people we were in contact with were gracious, friendly and helpful without exception. We felt totally welcome and at ease and very comfortable in the society.
What we also enjoyed was the camaraderie that we experienced with other motorcyclists (yes, even, no, especially, the Harley riders). I would say that 90% of the bikes we passed (which was a lot) waved the peace sign and Cathy would be our official greeter when I had my eyes on the road.
BMW R1200RT Motorcycle
What a great choice this was for our trip. Powerful and manoeuvrable we enjoyed every minute on this bike. It ate up the miles and was fun in the corners. Besides the things specific about this model that I mentioned in a earlier post, I think the gear ratio is just perfect: I always knew exactly which gear I was in without looking which I can't say for the GS. The luggage system is convenient too: we would just detach the panniers and top box and carry them to our room. We also rented a tank bag from Dubbelju but Jupiters didn't have them available and I really missed it on the east coast.
I wish I knew what went wrong in Yosemite.
And a last mention of the motorcycle rental companies: Dubbelju on the west coast with their superior customer experience and Jupiters on the east who we wish every success in establishing themselves. We would not hesitate to book and rent a motorcycle from these companies again.
I was disappointed that I didn't see more BMWs. The only few I saw where when we were in Yosemite and Death Valley. And then more RTs than GSs.
Finally
We really had a good time doing this trip and are already talking about saving for the next one to America.