Thank you, my loyal readers, for joining me on this epic journey. Thank you for the well wishes throughout the trip, expressions of concern when I was off the grid for awhile and even offers of help when I had some bad gas, er gasoline! It was so great to share my adventures with all of you. I hope that I will inspire you to share a trip of your own one day.

At times I will admit it was a pain in the ass to have to write about my day, or when I fell behind, but it has created a record about this trip that I will cherish for years to come. I have a ton of video from KSC that I will add, plus some other pictures I'd like to share. There were a few instances where I forgot to tell a story, or address an event, so I will be doing 1 full update in the upcoming months and I will advise the distribution list when that is complete. I will prolly wait until it is much colder so we can all escape in a warmer fantasy for a hour or two.

I also have a blog on another site about my trip to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, a trip to The Boneyard in Tucson, and a trip to Alaska in 2004 that I may migrate to this site once the snow flies.

Here are some statistics about the trip;

Total distance driven; 13 528 km
Total distance flown; 3 834 km

25 riding days = 542 km/day average (pretty light really!)
Non riding days were;

• August 13 in Atlanta, GA
• August 17 in Key West, FL
• August 21 & 22 in Philadelphia, PA
• August 26, 27 & 28 at Kennedy Space Center
  

I drove through AB, MT, WY, NE, MO, TN, GA, FL, AL, AR, LA, & KS (not in that order)

As recorded by my AMEX card used exclusively for gas:

• I stopped for gas 56 times
• paid an average of $3.18 per gallon, factoring 11% exchange $0.93 per litre
• purchased 233 gallons of gas, or 881L
• 8388 miles = 35.99 mpg
• 13 528 km = 6.51L per 100 km

I stayed in motels (not including CSAPS nights) 25 times paying at low of $51.50/night in Cocoa Beach and a high of $107.00 in Ft. Lauderdale. As found in previous years, the perceived 'class' of the hotel is directly inverse to the quality of the internet connection. My upstream speed in Cocoa Beach was 160 kps, yet over the course of 60+ hours I was able to upload a CSAPS video file to my Vimeo site that was just shy of 5 GB. Thankx Motel 6!
I would like to thank my job MEDIACO for giving me a great job that I enjoy tremendously, pays very well and allows me 6 weeks of paid vacation annually. This allowed me to spend 3 weeks with my family in The Dominican Republic in June/July plus take an epic motorcycle adventure. Due to the fact that I did CSAPS shoots twice during my vacation I was credited 8 days which is why the total trip lasted a whole month. I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise, or at the very least my daily mileage quota would have been much higher.

Also my ability to manage several projects from the road made it possible for me to be gone that long. I apologize to any clients who had to wait an extra day or two for a response if I was caught away from connectivity.

I had zero entries into the Key West 2014 Incredibly Hard Photography contest, and also no guesses at the Iowa town from where Radar O'Reilly hailed from. It was Ottumwa by the way. My own HeroCam plan came crashing down when my primary camera broke off the handlebar mount and was run over. I stopped at a couple Radio Shacks and a BestBuy looking for a case without luck. The irony is that I have about 50 cases at home, but didn't bring any spares!

A trip like this simply does not happen with sacrifices being made, and in order for me to enjoy a month long road trip, Eryn, my incredible wife had to make many sacrifices, and for that I am grateful beyond words. I work with some guys whose wives call them 6 times a day to check up on them. They are kept on a pretty short leash.

Eryn not only allows me these annual trips, but she encourages them, even going so far as to have included them in her wedding vows! She knows I have gone on a trip every year (with the exception of maybe 2 or 3) since 1989. Add to that caring for our Shelties; Kacy & Finnygan, who can be a handful at times, plus the responsibility and commitment not to leave them alone for too long each day. There is also the consideration of the financial outlay, which is considerable averaging $150.00 - $200.00 US per day.

I think you will agree I am lucky to have a woman of this strength and character as my wife, friend and teammate! I hope I pay her back appropriately the other 11 months of the year all of the hardships my enjoyment poses to her. I love you BabyGirl!That is all for now, I will advise you of the update, plus any new blogs in the not too distant future.

Best regards,
Lou Dechant