An adventure, by statistics

Hello Everyone,

As promised, here are a few stats about my trip.

Distance travelled: 43,969 km

Technically, I travelled a bit more than that, as I took a bunch of ferries that don't show up on the odometer.

Distance biked: between 1,000 km and 1,500 km

I didn't actually keep track of the total distance I biked. I would generally do about 10 miles per ride, but I don't like to add it up. Takes away from the pleasure of it, for me. I would rather not know.

U.S. states visited: 21

Canadian provinces: 5

Parts replaced on bike: a tire, a cassette, a rear derailleur, 4 sets of brake pads, 1 set of rotors, a rebuild of my shocks and bushings, 1 replacement spoke and a tuning of my wheels.

That war horse of a bike I ride doesn't owe me much. I've ridden thousands of kilometres on it, crashed several times, and it still keeps ticking.

Parts replaced on truck: 1 front tire, 1 fuse, 1 running board (pending)

Favourite trail: a tie, between Highline in Sedona, Arizona, and Meadow of the Grizzlie in Squamish.

Favourite regions:

1. BC Interior

2. Sea to Sky Corridor

3. Sedona, Arizona

The BC Interior is something every Canadian should experience. It had amazing drives, awesome mountain towns (Revelstoke, Golden, Fernie, Nelson, Kimberley, Rossland) and serious, serious riding.

The Sea to Sky Corridor (North Shore Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton) has the greatest variety of riding, a very nice drive, and a lot of energy. It's also busier, and thus not as quaint.

Sedona is my favourite area for desert riding, and it is uniquely beautiful. But it doesn't have the variety of trails as the other regions.

Area with lowest expectations and biggest delivery:

Idaho

Given that it's most famous for potatoes, that there was good riding there was a pleasant surprise.

Area with highest expectations that didn't quite deliver:

Colorado

It has quaint mountain towns (Crested Butte, Salida), and good riding, but the way it is talked about doesn't quite match up with the reality. It's quite dry, the trails aren't as good as the reputation, at least not the ones I rode.

Favourite non-riding area: Ocean Beach, San Diego.

I drove into town and thought I had stumbled into a Beach Boys song.

Favourite non-riding activity: Hot springs.

Surfing is fun and all, but I don't have the skills to do it competently. Hanging out in natural hot springs though? I got that nailed down. Oregon was the best for this, with honourable mentions to Colorado, Idaho and BC.

Most American thing I saw: a tie between motorcyclists without helmets and the guys openly carrying firearms in the grocery store.

Most Canadian thing I saw: a dreadlocked French Canadian shrugging off the danger of bears, in an area with a lot of bears. I guess they are just really polite?

Best camping area: Prewitt Ridge, California.

Just outside of Big Sur, it's a challenge to get up there, but worth it.

Most overrated danger: Rattlesnakes

Worried about it a lot before I left, didn't see a single one.

Highly rated, but still underrated: long walks on the beach.

It's almost a joke in dating profiles, but seriously, those walks are great. Early morning or sunset.

Best moment: When Arthur realized we were home.

wes