The End of the Road.

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On my bike in downtown Thailand

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Bangkok, Thailand

Friends, family and supporters, today marked the official end of the "Iron Horse Journey" which began nearly 2 years ago on a sunny table at the Borders Books Cafe in the watertower district of Chicago. At roughly 5:00 PM Thai time, I sold my trusty horse, Rocinante to a tuk-tuk driver for a mere $150 USD. Battered, beaten and irreparably Chinese, the bike carried me faithfully to the very end, even with a dead battery. Washed up, he still had the proud, shiny look of a store bike, but I knew he had been bleeding oil from his engine case secretly in the night, when he thought I couldn't hear him. Brave, noble Rocinante - farewell old friend!

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18,013.9 was the final KM count on the odometer when I parted with the bike on the touristy "Khao San Road." I bought the bike with 6,800 KM on the odometer, meaning that I drove 11,213.9 KM, or 6,968 US Miles total on the drive. I have driven 2.5 the width of the USA, and although I am very tired, it feels great!

Broke down by numbers:

Batteries: ............................................ 2
Tires: ....................................................1, 1 innertube
Oil Changes:........................................ 6-7
Chains:................................................. 1
Miles per day:..................................... 77.5 (approx)
Accidents:.............................................1 (Cambodia. Scars are cool.)
Countries..............................................4
No. of times dogs peed on bike:.........Unknown
Beer consumed by volume.................36 Gal.
Gas Consumed (estimated)................166 Gal. / 630 Lt. (14 Lt tank with range of 250 KM)
Chickens dodged...................................1,435
Cows dodged.........................................547
Bugs eaten.............................................92
Bee stings..............................................1


Now, I can officially put the doubts of fellow bikers to rest:
A Chinese, 150cc Dirt Bike WAS good enough for the job. Case Closed.

No regrets! Time of my life! Hard, difficult, beautiful, mind-blowing, unforgettable experience. Highly recommend you get started on your trans-world motorcycle ride.

As for me, I will be going to Japan to get a J.O.B. and to pursue some more freightening adventures like: learning to cook and practicing Thai Massage - with my new license that I got in Bangkok. I will also be working on a photo-book of the ride with pages from my journal, my writings, pictures, drawings etc that cover the other 99% of the trip I couldn't fit into this blog. I will make limited prints for family and friends who are interested. I have 5 DVDs full of photos and video to go through first. And before that I need to buy a sweater because it is winter in Japan.

I plan to post more photos etc. from the ride that I didn't get around to posting earlier when I get settled.

Thank you friends and family for your awesome emails, phone calls and support.

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