On Wednesday, August 9, I set out from Moore on the Ducati to head back to Southern California.
I considered detouring up through Denver, to avoid another transit of HWY40 and see Colorado and Utah, but to be honest, I was ready to be home. The trip took 2 days, reaching Flagstaff the first night and getting into LA early the next afternoon. The riding was fun, but hot. 107 degrees and 10% humidity hot. I think I could have made beef jerky on the passenger seat, but with taking frequent stops and wetting down, it wasn’t too bad.
One of the highlights was encountering an Uber self-driving car. There were two people riding in the front seats, but they were talking to each other and not paying any attention to what the car was doing. I followed them for about 10 miles as the car navigated construction, passed slower semis, and generally drove like a grandmother. We’re close.
Final Trip Summary
| Miles Traveled | 10,006 |
| Days Traveled | 12 full days; 5 half-days |
| Longest Day (twice) | 15 hrs, 900 miles |
| Hours in the Rain | 21 |
| States Traveled (most 2 or 3 times) | 19: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, plus Washington DC |
| Mechanicals | 2: shorted alternator cable and punctured rear tire |
The blue “airplane” icons are all the airports we used on the trip to and from Oshkosh. The green “bed” icons are where I spent the night in a hotel.
Bike in new home in Peninsula Yacht Marina
It was good to be back at the boat for a few days. I got to see Quinn and her new bird “Chicken,” catch up with friends, clean the bottom of the boat, and try to bring some order to the piles of stuff I dumped at the boat back in April.
Meeting Chicken
Tony and Robin
Tom and Lori
Marina Life
Strapping SCUBA gear to the motorcycle is always interesting. I use it to clean the bottom of the boat, which needs to be done every month or so.
The next challenge: how to get the van back from Northern California?
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