The good news is that the temporary cast was removed from John's foot on Friday and there is no need for another one. The foot is still swollen but the advice is to keep the foot raised as much as possible and not to do too much walking.

To round off our blog we thought we would list a few facts that maybe of interest to all the motorcyclists that have followed our trip:

Bike air-freighted byAir Transat
from London Gatwick to Toronto
& return:                                             £2574.00
Customs clearance/cargo handling
 in Toronto:                                        CAD$122.00
Customs clearance
which included Agents fees/cargo
handling in Gatwick:                          £149.00
Bike arrived and returned with no damage.

No need for UK residents to obtain ESTA prior to travel. When crossing from Canada to US we paid $6 per person for 90 day visa on the border. Its a more pleasant, relaxed experience than flying into America.

We used Motorcycle Express, based in New Jersey, for the motorcycle insurance, and they also arranged the air-freighting.

Total mileage covered:                       13752 miles
Total US gallons consumed:              283.77 galls
(litres used in Canada converted
 to US gallons and included)
Average cost per gallon in US:          $3.98 per gall (used premium 91/93 octane)
(large variation between States
- most expensive: California)
Average cost per litre in Canada:       CAD$1.44 per litre
Fuel consumption in US gallons:       48.45mpg
Converted to UK gallons:                  58.10mpg
Total top up of oil between services: 0.5 litre

Bike serviced twice: 1st in San Diego at 6,300 miles and 2nd in Manhattan, New York after another 6,200 miles.

One rear tyre ( a Metzler Tourance) after 7,300 miles.
Front tyre never replaced and still has a couple of thousand miles left in it.
No punctures or mechanical problems.
One headlight bulb was replaced.
I'm pleased to be able to say the bike performed faultlessly.

We have had a fantastic trip which has enabled us to experience the diversity of America which has included some great motorcycling roads and wonderful scenery. The peoples of America are very different but the one overwhelming similarity is their friendliness which we found everywhere we travelled.

Thank you for following our adventure and we are now planning our next trip to keep the winter blues at bay:-)

We intend to place this blog on the HUBB (Horizons Unlimited) which is indispensable for any motorcyclist that intends to travel anywhere in the world. On there you will find hundreds of people's travel stories which will whet your appetite for travel and give you tips and information.
Link below:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/

We have plotted our journey around America/Canada on google maps and the link is below:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=212728613291214459406.0004c5db653005f93efc8&msa=0&ll=42.032974,-108.808594&spn=36.07526,93.164063

 

Last night our son, Ross took us to Gatwick to collect the bike and I'm glad to say it came back in one piece with no marks, so that's a relief.  As you can see the swollen foot turned out to be a broken bone not a sprain, so have a temporary plaster on until Friday when I go to the fracture clinic to find out what they are going to do, hence I couldn't ride the bike home. The main thing is I managed to ride the bike for the 3 days without having to visit a hospital in America. More information on the trip to follow.

.....and with the bike back home safe and sound.

 

Our last day in Toronto and all our belongings are laid out on the beds ready for packing into our luggage which at present is the sealed package lying across the two beds. All our clothes were rolled up and carried in the black waterproof/dustproof bag on the left bed. Three hours until the shuttle takes us to the airport, so we better get packing!

 

Bike washed down this morning and taken to the Cargo Handlers ready to be flown out on Sunday.  Fingers crossed now that all goes well and we pick it up from Gatwick on Monday.  Tomorrow we pack for our flight home

 

Well here we are, back in Toronto!

We only had a 100 mile drive in today but the weather still managed to throw everything at us. We left wearing heated jackets in 4C (36F) temperature with sun and blue sky and 25 miles from Toronto, the sky turned black and the heavens opened.  The rain bounced as we manoeuvred our way between all the trucks as they hammered along the highway covering us with spray. Just as we arrive at the hotel, the rain stops!

We have now completed our loop of the Lower 48 and what a fantastic trip it has been!

 

The view from our hotel window - a golf course with the airport just behind.

When we left 3 months ago everything was green and now we see it in the autumn colours.  We have just collected our luggage from Chris, who is the mother of our neighbour's friend and lives just outside Toronto. She very kindly stored it for us for the last 3 months and to be honest if she hadn't been so kind enough to do that we would have had real problems. So thank you once again, Chris!

 

 

And now a foot-note:-)

We omitted to tell you that we had a stationary tip-off last Sunday. Whilst riding through a village, we came to a halt behind a car and as John put his foot down, the road wasn't there. He had stopped and put his left foot down, then when his right foot went down, the road was a few inches lower so by this time the bike had leant too far to the right to retrieve it, so over we went. Luckily only a couple of minor scratches on the bike but John's foot got trapped under the cylinder head. It hurt when he stood up but decided not to take his boot off to look as he knew it wouldn't go back on. Two Americans and one British guy came running over and helped us lift up the bike which weighs a ton fully loaded!

 

This is now Wednesday and it is still swollen but the bruising is now coming out. Its been very difficult and painful for John to get his boot on these last few days but fortunately it happened at the end of the trip and not the beginning. And for all the motorcyclists out there now smiling, as you know, you have all been there:-) 

So, tomorrow we start the preparation for home! We have been keeping a record of different things such as miles covered, fuel used, and costs which we will put on the blog when finalised.

 

Yesterday, en route from St Johnsbury, we stopped for lunch at Montpelier which is the capital of Vermont. The state building was not so big as others we have seen but had a striking gold dome.

 

The city is more the size of a town in the UK and it seemed to have a bohemian feel about it. Lots of art students wandering the streets.  Today we had a cold ride to a town called Belleville which is now just 100 miles from Toronto.  Thank goodness for heated jackets as the temperature was down to 5C (38F). 

Yesterday we crossed the border into Canada. Very quick and easy, didn't even have to get off the bike. The border guard just looked at our passports and asked for the registration number of the bike. Very different to the entry into America although that wasn't bad compared to entering through an airport.
For some reason the blog will not upload any photos so will try again tonight.
We have looked back at our route and can see that we rode through 34 of the lower 48 states. Will have to come back another time to do the other 14:-)