SUMMARY OF MOTORBIKE TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: -Flight to US - upgraded to top floor of a jumbo jet (Mark only). -Meeting lots of friendly and helpful Americans, especially in the inland states. -Getting drenched by Niagara Falls, standing on the Hurricane Platform. -Evening in Berlin (OH) - meeting the Amish community, outdoor concert by the Amish band (The Soaring Eagles), and watching the horse-drawn buggies. -The endless twists and turns through West Virginia,...

Day 80. Los Angeles, California. Well that's it for the motorcycling! The bikes were dropped off early this afternoon to be shipped back to the UK. We took the scenic route to LA, heading over the mountains via Route 2. This is a popular motorcycling route and for around 60 miles we had nothing but twists and turns. The bikes handled it flawlessly. We then hit LA which was a bit of a different experience. Seven lane highways and aggressive driving very much the...

Day 79. Palm Springs, California. Success! Finally found some proper sausages for Mark! Not minced pork patties, not turkey links, and not frankfurters, but proper British style sausages. And they didn't come with biscuits and gravy, which seems to be a favourite across much of the states. After a few weeks here we discovered that 'sausage, biscuits, and gravy' actually means a pork burger, served on a scone, and covered with a bacon flavoured white sauce - ...

Day 78. Palm Springs, California. It was off to Palm Springs today. As we descended from the hills the temperature rose notably and by the time we reached our hotel it was 34 degrees which is about the hottest it has been all trip. Luckily though we found a bit of respite by getting on the revolving cable car up the mountains. The cable car climbs 7000' in 10 minutes and the temperature drops by around 20 degrees. Once up we did a 5 mile walk around the state pa...

Day 77. Yucca Valley, California. Spent the day in Joshua Tree National Park (where the Mojave Desert meets the Colorado Desert), climbing over boulders and looking at strange, prickly plants. Got a good view of the San Andreas Fault from Keys View - luckily no sign of movement! Also saw a wild coyote.