Well the trip is over. Both myself and the bike are tucked safely away in Florida. I would like to thank those who followed along on this blog. To be honest, I started the blog as a diary, and I thought no one would find it in the plethora of internet babel, much less follow along, and I am quite surprised people did. In closing out this tome, I decided I would recall some of the interesting tidbits, reveal my biggest mistake, and post some of my favorite pics.
Interesting totals of the trip:
Motorcycles Used: 2 - 2012 BMW R1200GS (aka Greta); 2014 Chinese "Honda" Winn (Vietnam only) (aka Timmy Chonda)
Route Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 51.835 mi (86.605 km)
Miles on Odometer; 62.563 mi (100,908 km).
Total Countries Visited: 62 (see previous blogs for a listing)
Tires destroyed: 9 (5 Back, 4 Front)(favorite tire, Heidenau Scout K60)
Break Downs: 0
Crashes: 0
High Speed Dismounts (<10 mph, no Damage): 2 - Bulgaria and Indonesia
Other RTW Riders I Crossed Paths With: 6 (3 Germany, 1 Switzerland, 1 France, 1 Italy) (5 Male, 1 Female)(4 Solo)
Oil Changes: 12
Number of (Legitimate) Moving Violations: 0
Interesting Bits of Information
Fuel Costs (per gallon/4L): Least Expensive: Ecuador ($1.42); Most Expensive: Bolivia ($8.62)
Most Difficult Countries to Find Fuel: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
Worst Traffic: India (by far), Columbia
Worst Roads: Uzbekistan
Most Welcoming People: Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Nepal
Favorite Country to Ride Through: Tajikistan
Longest Customs Processing Time: Australia (5 Days), India (3 Days)
Shortest Customs Processing Time: Bulgaria (5 minutes), Georgia (6 Minutes)
Most Thorough Customs Search: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
Most Corrupt Customs Processing: India, Costa Rica
Most Corrupt Police Forces: Peru, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand
Coolest Police Forces: Georgia, Argentina
Most Popular Motorcycle Makes and Models on Long Distance Trips Encountered: 1) BMW 1200GS//800GS 2) Honda Africa Twin 3) Kawasaki KLR
Biggest Mistake: Not upgrading the suspension before departure. The bike handled just fine in the western world and most of South America; however the poor roads encountered in the "stans" and parts of Asia and Africa destroyed both the front and rear shocks in short order. I had to upgrade them in Thailand. So basically, I spent all the money for an upgraded suspension and only had the benefit of the suspension for 25 percent of the trip. Conclusion: Sometimes my cheapness costs me allot.
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| Bosnia-Herzegovina |
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| Belize |
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| Camboda |
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| Georgia |
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| Croatia |
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| Panama (Around the Darrien Gap) |
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| Ecuador |
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| Greece |
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| Indonesia |
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| Kazakhstan |
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| Kazakhstan |
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| Kyrgyzstan |
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| Laos |
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| Machu Pichu |
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| Montenegro |
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| Tajikistan |
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| Morocco |
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| Tajikistan |
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| Tajikistan |
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| Nepal |
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| USA |
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| Peru |
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| Romania |
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| Australia |
What's next Ken? You staying in Florida?
ReplyDeleteNo Idea. Join Life again I guess :)
DeleteFeel was lucky became one of your reader. Though I don’t know at all about motorcycle 😁
ReplyDeleteOne of mu best friends and fans, thanks for following.
DeleteTruly a 1 in 7.5 billion experience. It was great to join you on two short spurts of the trip. Look forward to planning something for 2020 that can keep pace.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed following you on your trip of a lifetime :-) Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words.
DeleteI never thought my journey trip from Bangkok to Italy by land will changed my life. This month it is been 6 years we have met in Sary tash and joined your trip in Thailand,Goa,Cambodia,Bali good and bad things happened becomes nice memories. This trip is over for years. Only one word i can describe to our journeys is "Destiny"
ReplyDeleteI forgot Malaysia 😀
DeleteDestiny is a weird thing. I met a Thai girl in Sary-Tash, Kyrgyzstan. She was traveling west and I was traveling east. We were both in S-T for one night, which means, if our schedules varied by as little as one day, emphasizing that I was on a 4-year trip, we would not have met. We met, we traveled together, and now, we are living in Chiang Mai, Now, this once confirmed bachelor and his once bachelorette are about to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. Like the roads of Uzbekistan our relationship has had its bumps, but like those crazy roads, I am enjoying every bit of it.
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