Planet Earth: Completed

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. 

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Belize

Camboda

Georgia

Croatia

Panama (Around the Darrien  Gap)

Ecuador

Greece

Indonesia

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Machu Pichu

Montenegro

Tajikistan

Morocco

Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Nepal

USA

Peru

Romania

Australia

Spain

Thailand

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Vietnam

That's all folks!

USA: San Francisco, California to Houston, Texas

Well, things are almost coming to an end. This will be my second to last post, and upon entering Houston, I have completely circumnavigated the planet.  The only thing left in the trip is to ride to Florida, my starting spot.  This becomes a tricky part of the trip as I so not want to be the guy who makes it around the world without a crash just to upset the feat a couple of miles from my driveway (insert red-faced emoji here)
.   
The ride across the US in the winter has been at times beautiful and inspiring, and at other times wet. cold. and miserable.  Thankfully, the good has far outweighed the wet  I had last driven across the south western portion of the Country when I was just a kid, and my primary memories center around fighting with my brothers and driving my parents crazy, this time I enjoyed the solitude of a solo motorcycle ride.  I left the interstates and rode on secondary and tertiary roads 90 percent of the time, which I thoroughly enjoyed. 











Leg Distance: 2,145 mi (3,460 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 50.868 mi (82.045 km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor-Leste. Australia, USA

Califoria (USA): The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)

Well, what can I say about the PCH that hasn't already been said? It is just a fantastic ride from top to bottom. The PCH plays a role in hundreds of movies, dozens of motorcycle and convertible automobile commercials, and many many TV shows, it is fair to say that the PCH has been seen on most every TV set in the world.  With its long runs of road carved into the side of mountains, architecturally significant bridges, small hamlets to stop an refuel the bike and the rider, with little traffic, when not on fire, the PCH is the quintessential coastal roadway.  In short, the PCH needs to be traversed by every rider, at least once in their lifetime.  In my opinion, and sorry Jeremy Clarkson, but the Transfăgărășan Highway (aka Ceausescu Folley), in Romania, is not the best road in the world to run, it is the Pacific Coast Highway, and yes, I have run them both (see earlier blog post).   

I entered the PCH a bit north of Los Angeles near Ventura California, and Ran it all the way north to Dillon Beach, about 50 miles north San Francisco.  Along the way I passed throuugh tons of canyons, villages, beach fronts, and hundreds of miles of turny, twisty, die if you overshoot the turn, road roadway.  It was allot of fun. 

Leg Distance: 523 mi (844 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 48,723 mi (78,585 km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, USA, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor-Leste. Australia, USA

Australia to USA: Shipping and Hawaii

My time in Australia has come to an end and now it is time to head to the USA for the last leg of the trip. As one might expect, the hardest part about moving continents is shipping the bike.  The first choice is by air, rather than by boat.  The reasons for this are multi-fold, it is: quicker, more reliable, more easily tracked and claimed and believe it or not, it is cheaper than shipping by boat.  There is a very good shipper in Australia that arranges everything, crating (which is the first time of the trip), delivery to the airport, the actual flight, and delivery to the air cargo facility at the destination.  The only service I had to perform was dropping the bike at the BMW dealership in Sydney, clearing the paperwork at customs (Australia and USA) and reassembling the motorcycle on the dock in the USA, which took me about three hours to perform.  Total cost for the shipment was $1,700.  

Assembling in the United Airlines Air Cargo Warehouse

Half Assembled

When it came to getting myself across the Pacific, it was quite a bit cheaper.  I found an Air Hawaii flight for $400.  I looked for the longest possible connection, in this case 24 hours, and spent the time in Hawaii.  I rented myself a little scooter and cruised around the main island checking out the sights. 

Hawaii

Back in the USA

Almost There....

Australia - Sydney

There are few road riding experiences that are as breathtaking as coming over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and looking over at the iconic Sydney Opera House to one side and the beautiful surrounding harbor. It is just a phenomenal feeling. Sydney really is a special city.





I passed through Sydney and on to a little beach town called Manley Beach. It is a beautiful bohemian little town that is only three blocks wide.  To the east is the ocean and to the west is Sydney Harbor, and it lies just a 20 minute ferry ride to downtown Sydney, so it is perfectly located.   The better part is that Manley Beach is home to a very good friend of mine.  We met in Afghanistan during his deployment and my tenure there. I was in charge in the planning of the Air Base and he was in charge of mine and un-exploded ordinance disposal, so spent quite a bit of time together and became fast friends.  I am staying with him while here and it has been a very nice part of the trip.  One of the very nice parts of working and living outside the USA for the past decade is that some of my best friends are sprinkled throughout the world.  



I will be shipping the bike from Sydney to California.  I have met with the shipper and he is calculating the price of shipping.  More to come.   



Leg Distance: 637 mi (1,028 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 48,200 mi (77,741 km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, USA, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor-Leste. Australia