The Final Chapter

The Final Chapter

After a leisurely morning
staying cool in the hotel,
we made the final searing
bolt across the desert and
arrived safely back home.

No crashes this time, no
dangerously bad weather,
nothing we couldn't handle.
All in all, a very successful trip!

Our total trip was 5,682 miles -
a good bit shorter than
originally planned, but still
not too bad for two and half
weeks on the road.

The good news is that even with
the skipped GPS points and the
re-routing of the end of the trip,
we still managed to squeeze 54 points
out of the I've Been Everywhere tour
- enough for our Finisher's Plaques -
and 48 points out of the GPS Tour.

We'll still have to hit a few local GPS points
to get Finisher's Plaques for that ride,
but we have until November to
complete the rides and submit our photos.

There are about six more GPS locations
within an short day's ride of home,
as well as four or five more easy IBE points.

And so, this page remains a
work-in-progress until we decide we've
accumulated enough points.

Thank you for sharing our adventure with us,
and check back often for the continuing updates!

All of us need a bath!

Home again, home again...

*UPDATE*
It has been brought to my attention that I forgot to give you the update on the Zumo!

The day after we returned from the trip, I contacted Garmin International.
After a brief round of troubleshooting, the tech determined that the battery had
probably been faulty from the get-go. Luckily, my 12-hour-a-day use over the
last two weeks prompted the battery to fail within the Super Duper Warranty Period,
where they replace the unit rather than repairing it.

I sent the dearly departed Zumo back to Garmin via Priority Mail, and they actually
overnighted the replacement Zumo back to me. Within four days of my phone call,
I had a brand new Zumo in my possession. I wasn't too happy about the failure, but I was
extremely pleased with the way Garmin handled the situation. In this era of customer service
being "Job None", it's really exciting to find a company that goes out of their way
to provide the highest quality of customer service.

Thanks Garmin - Keep up the Good Work!

*UPDATE to the UPDATE*
My expensive GXM Garmin-XM Receiver Antenna has now also failed.

I don't think I need to go into all the details, but let me just say that exceptionally good customer
service can sometimes just be a fluke. I did eventually receive my replacement GXM;
the person I spoke with said the item was in stock and would be overnighted to me
since I was leaving for a tour that week. Six days later, the day before I was to depart,
I called Garmin and asked where my GXM was. The reply?
"Oh, that was out of stock. But it's in stock now; did you still want that?"

I guess there was some part of "Urgent Overnight Warranty Claim" that got lost in the
translation there. I was able to have the GXM sent on ahead and I intercepted it on the
first day of the tour. So in the end, I suppose, it all worked out OK. Now lets just hope
I don't have occasion to test Garmin's customer service for a third time...

...And A Few Last Stops...

These are the pictures we submitted for
the Best Picture portion of the contest.
(We each get to submit one).

We once again used the rhyming clause,
figuring Jericho was a good rhyme for
Jellicoe. Plus, maybe we get bonus
points for providing irrefutable proof of
having been someplace that doesn't exist.

Will we get three points for this since is
clearly says "Kansas", or will we get one
point since we fessed up that it's really in
California? Only time will tell...

I actually was accosted by some
psycho security guard with a God
complex when I was taking the picture
to the left. She came roaring over
in her little securitymobile and started
screeching that I was not allowed
to take pictures without the express
written consent of the property owners.

I held eye contact, raised the camera,
and blatantly snapped off several
pictures. Then I said something to
the effect of, "Neener, neener. What are
you going to do, arrest me?"* Then
I suggested that she buy a coloring book
or something to keep herself occupied as
I burned out of the parking lot.

Who knew that this quest could be so
dangerous?

* Now, before anyone comes lumbering over here to
arrest me for taking a picture of a big, clearly visible
public sign on a public sidewalk, that was kind of the
Cliff's Notes version of events. I would be more than
happy to recount the life-altering mental anguish I
have suffered as a result of the physical threats and
racially charged sexist slurs I suffered at the hands of
this horrible beast if you want to drag me into court.
Plus, I think she may have even called me a lesbian
gimp. And she made fun of the Japanese bike, too.

Once the weather cooled down some, I made a second attempt at the Nevada GPS points.
I was already in Las Vegas for business, but Mike wasn't able to join me on account of
it was Jericho Gun Club Day. I revisited all the points that we hit after Zumo failed on the last trip.
Turns out the actual points were the Rodeo Park, the Ethel M Chocolate Factory, and the
Oscar's Martini sculpture near Freemont Street. Even the point near the Hoover Dam appeared to
actually be the place where we took the "What A GPS Point Should Look Like" picture.
I take back almost all the nasty things I said about the bum GPS points.
Well, the ones in Nevada, at least.

And finally, we picked up a few points in California.

The Griffith Park Observatory is only accessible
by tram, so we got a picture from the roof of a
nearby Home Depot. Now that's ingenuity!

And a day of beautiful riding brought us to the
Sherman Tree in the Sequoia National Park.

The Grand Total is now 44 GPS points for Mike,
50 GPS points for me, and 58 IBE points
for each of us. And we submitted "The Incident"
in the Best Story contest. Wish us Luck!