AZ Day 12 - Home Again....

Well I believe I rolled off a million miles today
I still have rocks in my shoes from Arizonia
Drivin' all alone down that lonely road
I'd call you but I'm almost home

Arriving right on time (I got to see what I can find)
When I get to the other side (of that Georgia State line)
My pride is swelling and how I try not to cry
You caught me in a Peach State of Mind

Peach State of Mind by Memory Dean

I'm home again in the Peach State.

Today started with what has become an almost chronic hour over-sleep. Damn! But with home only a state away I was dressed and on the bike in record time.

I'd been lucky to avoid any rain on this trip, not unusual in my drought stricken Georgia but for twelve days on the road that's quite a feat. Just south of Montgomery, AL, I had feared my luck was going to run out but the skies withheld their rain until I passed.

The miles rolled by quickly thanks to a good night's sleep. Even the dreaded bug encrusted windshield couldn't affect my return journey.

I arrived back home shortly after 3 p.m. EST and celebrated a successful trip with a good shower and home delivered pizza. Now that I'm home there will be a lot of catching up to do, both here and at work, but for this weekend I'm just going to relax...well, right after I mow the lawn. Seems that in my rush to get out of town I forgot to mow it and the neighbor down the street has been frowning at me since I returned.

As some of you know I aspire to more and longer road trips and consider this just one another stepping stone towards future road trips. I have compiled some basic facts and observations from this trip and will list a few here. However, I'll try to update this blog in the future with additional info.

Here's a quick review of the trip:

12 days on the road
10 travel days
Over 4,500 miles ridden
Daily average of 450 miles ridden
Longest day was 700+ miles
Estimated 25 refuelings
And while miles can be counted, smiles are beyond record keeping.

I was able to use this trip to narrow down some of my gear & upgrade selections for the bike. I will be sending my saddle down to the folks in Texas who add medical grade padding to the seat. At the same time I'll let them add a backrest to the stock saddle as my back sure could have used some support, especially around day three and on!

I've also decided that the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit I want will be sufficient in the heat of the summer. Even in the Texas heat I'd have been been better protected from sun and heat, as well as road rash had I gone down, if I'd had the Roadcrafter instead of my usual Joe Rocket jacket and blue jeans. Now I just have to save up the funds for it!

I received a few messages from some of the other long distance riders asking for info on the equipment I used on this trip. I'll take pics and post more info over the next few weeks. Feel free to shoot me an email via the blog profile if there's a particular piece of equipment that you want more info about.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this trip, outside of the trip itself, was my test of my new SPOT satellite tracking device. The multiple marks, almost one every ten minutes, tend to blend together but here's an over view map of the entire trip:

Thanks to all who have followed along with me during the journey via this blog. And a special thanks to JD in Texas and Chico in Louisiana for their hospitality along the road. A special thanks is due to Doc and Jerry out in Arizona for giving me and over a dozen other riders a damn good excuse to hit the road and meet up along the way. Thanks guys for all the hard work y'all did in organizing the Coronado Trail run and showing all of us a good time out in Arizona!

As a parting shot I wanted to include a video a friend and his wife put together using their pics and video shot from his bike. I'm the goober wearing the riding jacket with yellow shoulders:

A big thanks to Randy and Cindy for putting together the video.

Ok, time to mow the lawn...ah, the life of a returning Road Warrior!