Spiritual libation, the adventure's end.

Fri. Oct.2nd 2009
7:45 am, back home at Santoroland.
Rode a hard day from Anamosa Iowa. Only needing 1,200 miles to get home allowed me to ride more aggressively.
Had a beautiful tail wind (tues past). Took 64 out of town because the ride was soo nice last Sunday when I took the bike out for the church of two wheels. It was nice to come home that afternoon for a little spiritual libation. The day was sooo perfect, it was impossible to go to church. I figured with all the prayers I say all day long(please god don't let him pull out in front of me...etc) it sort of counts:)
Monday was the new set of tires. Metro Harley out in Cedar Rapids got the job done in record times! I barely had time to get through two or three mags. They only charged me $110 to install and ballence the pair. Pretty good!
Tuesday out the door and on the road by 8:00am. had packed and pre-ride inspected the bike the night before:)
Eventually , hopped on the interstate in Indiana. The moment you cross east of the Mississippi the state roads and county roads are packed with stop lights. It was annoying as hell. Had to ride the interstate if I ever wanted to get home.
Rode till it got dark. Was tired of paying for camping. I only needed to sleep for about 8 hours, why should I pay $20-100 for that?! So I 'camped' behind a fence behind a big Loews. Got to use my 'bike tent'. That was exciting. It's just a tarp I throw over the bike, and sleep under. I definatly plan on doing some more 'free camping' next summer.
Wed. Cold and rainy, all day. When I pulled into the hotel right outside of Binghampton it was 36deg. Awesome. Kept having to warm my hands up on the engine all day. That was a trick I picked up in the Yukon. It was the record cold for riding during the entire trip. Dinner, hot bath, cranked the space heater WAY up(the hotel gave me a discount on the last room they had because it didn't have heat, only the space heater), sleep, breakfast, and on the road again.
Saw a sign, 166mi to NYC. I laughed out loud! What was 166mi at this point? Nothing! I ride that much before lunch. Ha! I remember two months ago that seemed an impossibly large distance.
Visited some old friends in my home town where I grew up, then attempted to get into the city before dark(didn't make it:).
NYC was not nearly as deathly scary as I remember leaving it. Was I a better rider now? Probably? That was nearly 11,000 miles ago.
My father fed me, and I told him and my grandmother stories....
Now it's time for some sleep. Currently it's strange. I don't know how I feel. Not sad or happy.
Maybe a bit confused. I'm no more or less comfortable in my cushy apartment with my $$$$ mattress than I was sleeping in a tent with a sleeping bag. I don't have the words exactly yet.
I saw the magnitude of the human spirit. What people were/are capable of. That's not something easily forgotten.
Picture this: You pulled out the measure stick which you use to gauge life, and discovered to your pleasure that I was deeper than you imagined possible?
In truth, the trip wasn't anything that special or amazing. Loads of other folks have made the trip before, in varying degrees of peril, on all sorts of motorcycles.
I'll think some more as I un-pack tomorrow(I don't have many things).
I never expected anything from this trip, except, maybe to see America. I never thought it would change me in any way. Didn't believe myself to be that kind of person.

Some quick stats for those in the know:
Miles: 11,000 give or take.
Oil changes: 3
Tires changes: 2front, 4 rear.
Awesomeness: Epic

Here's a link to a map I whipped up on google: map