So the usual final roundup….
So what’s the verdict?
Another fantastic trip, but a wee bit too long. Think I must be getting old. I do love the USA though.. once again the people can’t be faulted, (not so sure about some New Yorkers tho’).
and here is the usual breakdown:
Countries Visited
USA
Total distance travelled – 4698 miles
Costs:
Flights – £ 517.32
Other travel – UBER £7.60 and $140; Trains NYC $28
Bike Shipping – Out £1620 – Back £906.40
Bike Insurance – £404.30 transit both ways, USA Accident etc. cover $602.90
Accommodation – Motels $1304 average $46 per night; AirBnB £535 average £49 per night
Food – Don’t know, didn’t keep track of it
Fuel – mostly paid cash… a full tank was around $10 so roughly $15 per day
Toll Roads – Crossing the Bay Bridge in San Francisco was $10, the golden gate bridge cost $8 per crossing into SF so $16 in total
Shopping – myob still
Best ride
Tail of the Dragon and Blue Ridge Parkway… would do both again and would love to finish the BRP next time
Worst ride
Memphis – probably the worst roads I have ever ridden; closely followed by Pennsylvania flash flooding
Best HD Dealership
All were good but hats off to San Francisco
Worst HD Dealership
None… see above
Best Hotel
They were all pretty much the same, some good, some great, some terrible, but that’s what I have come to expect of american motels… you get what you pay for mostly.
Worst Hotel
The Mother Road Hostel, Albuquerque… nasty but convenient and cheap, staff were great though.
Favourite Place Visited
Albuquerque, New Mexico closely followed by Carson City, Nevada and New York
Least Favourite Place Visited
Memphis wins again….. shame really
What I Would Do Again
Almost all of it
What I Wouldn’t Do Again
Utah…. too windy and islolated. The scenery not to be missed though so glad I did it.
Sorry to say I will never ship my bike overseas again, it has been incredibly stressful and the paperwork or lack of it, guidance and support has been awful. From sending my bike to LA by ‘accident’ to having to wait nearly 3 months for it to return to the UK plus constant emails to try and get some sort of update has been very disappointing. I would, however, recommend Motofreight, I think they tried their best but were very badly let down by the US shipping company Schumachers… if I was to do it again I would deal direct with CFR Rinkens in the USA.
After another month I finally got my V5C returned with all the export paperwork… I had to remind them to return them to me… sigh!!
What to Remember for the Next Trip
Don’t lose my bloody laptop… so make sure everything is tied down before setting off!!!
Switch the bloody GoPro on for San Francisco Pride.
Don’t go for longer than 4 weeks max…
Take less stuff – again!!
P.S. I came home to a £1500 mobile phone bill from Orange/EE which must be the use of the Waze app for routing so no way am doing that again. I queried it with Orange/EE and they did refund me the money as I should have had unlimited roaming so in the end it wasn’t an issue, but don’t think I’ll chance it in the future.
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