Welcome Home and Some Trip "Factoids"

Thanks to our friends and the staff at Heritage for the Welcome Home! It was so heartwarming to pull into the driveway and see this sign.

Coast to Coast - 3472 miles
Average Miles Per Day - 65.5
Trip Average - 14.67 mph
Saddle time - 241 hours
Longest Day-Saddle time- 7 hours, 5 minutes, 22 seconds (Miles City, MT to Bowman, ND)
Longest Day-Mileage- 126 miles (Miles City, MT to Bowman, ND)
Longest Riding Stretch - 11 days in a row, Everett, WA to Three Forks, MT
Fastest Speed - 40.9 mph (We could go much faster but the Stoker whines!)
Longest Grade Up- 16 miles - East side of Stephens Pass in Washington (2nd day)

Longest Grade Down- 20+ miles - West side of Stephens Pass to Coles Corner
Steepest Grade - 9% coming down from 100 Mile View in New Hampshire

Flats:
4 on the bike - 1183 miles longest stretch;
11 miles shortest stretch (our "mystery" flat)
2 on BOB - 3017 miles before the first; 391 miles before the second

Repairs:
7/28 - back chain and middle ring replaced in Schenectady, NY
7/29 - right shift cable replaced in Brattleboro, VT
7/30 - left shift cable and all brake pads replaced in Brattleboro, VT

Days of Riding per State:
Washington - 5 1/2
Idaho - 1
Montana - 10
North Dakota - 6 1/2
Minnesota - 4
Wisconsin - 6
Michigan - 3 1/2
Ohio - 4
Pennsylvania - 1/2
New York - 7 1/2
Vermont - 1
New Hampshire - 2

Highway Rating-Best to Worst: (road conditions-pavement, shoulders)
1-New York
2-Michigan
3-New Hampshire
4-Ohio
5-Vermont
6-Idaho
7-North Dakota
8-Washington
9-Maine
10-Pennsylvania
11-Massachusetts
12-Montana
13-Minnesota
14-Wisconsin

Driver Courteousness-Best to Worst:
1-New York
2-Vermont
3-New Hampshire
4-North Dakota
5-Michigan
6-Ohio
7-Massachusetts
8-Maine
9-Minnesota
10-Idaho
11-Pennsylvania
12-Washington
13-Montana
14-Wisconsin

Number of Different Beds Slept In: 43 (All the tenting nights count as 1 bed)

Two Most Desolate Places We Rode Through (and had to stay in):
Flasher, ND
Hysham, MT

Hardest and Longest Headwind:
76 miles, Hysham to Miles City, MT

Our Total Miles on the Tandem at the end of the trip: 17,020

Check back soon for some answers to the most asked questions and some highs and lows!

Gerry and Pat