2007 Trip STATS

The places, characters and events that I experienced last summer were so significant that it seemed only right to compile a brief list about ’em. Enjoy! Don’t see something you want to know? Email me. Cheers!

Key Dates:

• May 29 Decide to do P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER, with no experience or money
• June 14 First conversation with Philip McCaleb, owner of Genuine Scooter Company
• June 21 Philip surprises me by saying that Genuine/Scooterworks will offer full support. I promptly freak out
• July 6 Pick Up Scooter from Scoot Richmond
• July 15 Engines start in D.C. Drive to C-ville, then leave for good on 19th, after confusion over who was dog sitting
• July 31 Reach New Orleans, FIRST PART OF PEACE SIGN is complete
• August 5 Shreveport, LA : same circle of latitude as Iraq
• August 12 Reach the bellybutton of the Peace sign, Salina, KS. SECOND PART complete
• August 13 MEMORIAL FOR DECEASED U.S. SOLDIERS, 3,690
• August 16 4 weeks on road
• August 17 Reach Fargo, THIRD PART COMPLETE. Mileage, 4, 292
• August 23 Cross Continental Divide, elevation 9,000 ft. Finally reach Missoula, MT
• August 24 Meet my partner in Peace. *smiles*
• August 30 Reach Seattle, FOURTH PART COMPLETE. Mileage, 6,200
• September 13 8 Weeks on road
• September 27 FIFTH PART complete. Leave CA after 2.5 weeks!
• October 1 First Time I saw the Grand Canyon
• October 9 Reach Salina, KS, 2nd time. SIXTH PART complete
• October 11 12 Weeks on road
• October 13/AM FINISH. SEVENTH PART COMPLETED IN Crawford, TX
• October 13/PM BEGIN relaxing, in Austin, TX. Homeward bound 2days later.

BASIC STATS:

• 87 days on the road
• Total Distance: 11,198 miles (D.C. to Crawford, TX)
• Gas Expenses: $388 dollars
• Avg. Daily Distance: 203 miles
• Avg. Weekly Distance: 1,000 miles
• Busiest Month: August, 3,600 miles, from New Orleans to Seattle, WA
• Days off: 27 *some unexpected, some pleasant interceptions*
• Longest Drive: 380 miles, Bottineau, ND to Circle, MT
• Shortest Drive: 43.1 miles Palm Springs,CA to Joshua Tree, CA
• Coldest Drive: Pacific Highway 101-Lincoln City, OR to Port Orford, OR. Windy sea breeze, shivering and damp all day.
• Most Complicated Drive: Mobile, AL to NOLA only 116 miles.
• Windiest Drive: Had to drive on shoulder at times, Santa Fe to La Junta, CO. 40mph gusts, from the South.
• Most Irritating Drive: Old Hwy 66 from L.A. to Palm Springs, due to smog/traffic
• Lowest Altitude: 20ft. elevation New Orleans
• Highest Altitude: Taos, NM 7,090ft. elev.
• Highest Crossing: Roger’s Pass, past Continental Divide, close to 9,000ft.
• Hottest Day: 105,Salina, KS to Nebraska, Aug 12
• Coolest Day: 48 deg., Oregon Coast, Sept 10
• State in the Longest: (bliss!) California, 9/11-9/28, 1, 700 miles
  
• State in the shortest: (fear)Texas, first time, 14.2 miles, near TexArkLa
• Number of states I went through: 21 states
• Flat tire: 1
• Tire change: 1, back tire, at 6,000 miles
• Breakdown: 1
• Number of Bridges Crossed: 6 at least
• Longest Bridge: Oakland Bay Bridge
• Times I fell off scooter: 1
• Minutes it took to pack up when I started trip: 20-25
• By the end: 5

Where did I sleep?

• Friends/Omegans: 24 nights
• Scooterists: 12 nights
• Hotels: 33
• Average Hotel Price, on East Coast. $60
• Everywhere else: $15-40
• Free Hotels: 10
• Hostels: 2
• Camping: 6
• Offers from strangers that I couldn’t coordinate: LOTS!
• Random note: Visited the place Terry Nichols lived and the monument in Oklahoma City

My take on the hotel situation. Hmm, more than I had planned, definitely and what cost the most, fer sure. Many nights it rained, many nights it was HOT and many nights I wanted to blog. Most of the time I didn’t throw my stuff in a ditch and camp because I didn’t want to worry if I was safe. If I did it again-I would secure more places to stay before leaving, or www.couchsurfing.com.

Other Long Distance Scooterists that I met
Marke from OKC (8,000 miles) and Mike from NOHO (all the way up to ALASKA!)

• Number of Peace Definitions left on website: 94
  Number recorded (tape, writing): about 20
  Number left to reach a billion: 199,000,886
  Number of Peace Postcards distributed: 1,600
  Number left now: 6
• People who came out to ride: 33 (two motorcyclists)
• People who wanted to and we couldn’t hook up: Holy Crow, too many to count!
  People on the road also on Cross Country trips, on motorcycles: 3
• Miles driven with others: About 700
  Miles driven alone: 10, 497
  Donations from Strangers: 42
  Donations from Friends, some twice: 17
  Total donated through PayPal/Mail/Face to Face: around 2,000
  Anonymous donor: 1,500
  My loan: 6,000. Yes, I am in debt. You can still donate! Every bit helps!
• Trip cost about $1 a mile, rounding up

*bit more expensive because of start up cost. Jacket, boots, saddlebags, helmet, gloves, fancy camcorder, tent, riding pants, external hard drive for video footage. Consider that advance planning could make it much more affordable. More time to work some deals.
BEST IN SHOW/TRIVIA/SALUTES

• Magazine that did numerous kind things for me: Scoot! Magazine
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT MANAGED TO FIRST GET THE PRESS OUT and who can (seemingly) drink the most beer: ATOMIC BROWN
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT THREW THE BIGGEST, BESTEST PARTY: Urban Modo, Austin, TX
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT DID MY SECOND OIL CHANGE and PUT ON THE PLATES: Twist and Go
• SCOOTER SHOP WITH SERIOUS STREET CRED and BEST LOGO: Centaur Cycles in Santa Fe, NM
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT WAS OWNER TO THE HIPPEST SCOOTER: Scooter King/Vespa Portland
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT HOSTED MY FIRST RALLY: Vespa Santa Barbara
• SCOOTER SHOP STUCK HOSTING (graciously) ME AND MY VISITING FRIEND: Scooterville, MT
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT TOOK ME TO A PEACE PARTY: Scooterville, MT
• SCOOTER SHOPS WHERE I THINK I HAD AN IMPACT IN THE BUDDY SALES: Scooterville, MT and NOHO Scooters (those people wrote to me)
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT GAVE ME NUMEROUS PROTEIN SHAKES B/C I LOOKED LIKE TOTAL CRAP: Scheel’s All Sport in Fargo, ND
• SCOOTER SHOP with a FERRIS WHEEL INSIDE: Scheel’s All Sport, Fargo, ND
• SCOOTER SHOP WITH THE BEST MEMORABILIA AND TOTAL COOL ALL AROUND: NOHO Scooters
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT I JUST RAN INTO SAY HI AND THEY HELPED CASH A CHECK: Coos Bay, OR
• SCOOTER SHOPs that BOTH DONATED $100: Scoot Richmond and Vespa Portland
• SCOOTER SHOP that offered me a bit of everything while there and good sense of humor: Tulsa, OK
• SCOOTER SHOP that really isn’t a scooter shop that did towed me and did a major repair, while busting my chops: Circle, MT
• SCOOTER SHOP not affiliated with Genuine that gave me a free plug in the flat tire: Conti’s in Wanatachee, WA
• SCOOTER SHOP where most employees ride Ducati’s but sell Buddy’s, and threw down the red carpet: Ducati Seattle
• SCOOTER SHOP that had the most bizarre sleeping arrangement: Well Necessities, also a sleep apnea clinic (and scooter showroom) Shreveport, LA
• SCOOTER SHOP THAT I SPENT THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TIME IN AND WISH I HAD STAYED LONGER: Encore Performace, Prescott, AZ
• SCOOTER SHOP that received the scooter twice, via shipping- patiently dealt with it, while being totally stylish, oh and kicking me their awesome Corazzo jacket: Scoot Richmond
• SCOOTER SHOP with the all around best showroom (that I visited): Scoot Richmond
• SCOOTER SHOP where I felt like I had the most in common with the owners: Atomic Brown (Coffee, Beer, Buddhism) or Centaur Cycles (they are my heroes)
• SCOOTER SHOP that gave me the best tshirt: Vespa New Orleans “Transportation Revolution“
• SCOOTER SHOPS THAT MADE MY DAYS BETTER: ALL OF THEM!
• Scooterists with websites that were mad helpful: Crystal Waters-www.girlbike.com. Steve Guzman-www.thescooterscoop.blogspot.com. Ellen and crew over at www.scooterdiva.com
• Place with coolest promo item (we all know, right?), BEST JACKETS and fun shop games: Corazzo
  
• Scooter Forum that connected me with lots of people, brought the most traffic and makes good reading: www.modernbuddy.com
• Scooterist of gallant proportions who organized huge end of scoot event: Steve Guzman
• Expensive Gadget used the least: GPS
• Thing I was happiest to have packed as an afterthought: Camelbak
• Top three things that made trip easier: RevPacks, Cowl Protector/Front Rack
• Number of people seen more than once, in different states: 4
• Times I ran out of gas: 3. State I ran out of gas the most: Kansas, 2x
• Biker Bars I went to: 2
• Tshirts gifted to me: 11
• Best book given: The Alchemist
• Number of Festivals attended: 2, Bumbershoot and Earthdance
• Favorite New Performer: My Brightest Diamond
• Dried Beans I went through: Big ol’ sack
• Times I aprox. used stove for making breakfast and coffee: 19
• Patches:10
• Stickers: 31
• Favorite gift: Peace Sign Scooter Seat Cover from Crystal Waters
• Number of sunglasses given: 3
• Number of headphones went through: 3
• Free Haircuts: 3
• Number of gems/stones received: 3
• First person to buy me a cup of coffee: Denise in D.C.
• Last person to buy me a cup of coffee:Steve Guzman
• Fellow Espresso Affcionado: Chuck Pefley, WA
• Autographs signed: 17
• Press Accounts : 19, including one movie interview
• Worst One Written: CNN
• Number of mean comments on website before CNN video: 3
• After CNN video: 7
• Coolest Natural Monument: Joshua Tree National Forest
• Prettiest Drives: New Mexico, Blue Ridge Parkway, 89/89A through Arizona, Highway 1 down CA coast, Highways 2/200 through Montana, Idaho and Washington
• Freakiest Gas Station Experience: North Dakota, near Greenfield. Ugh.
• FANCIEST HOTEL WITH THE COOLEST STAFF: Hotel Donaldson
• FUNKIEST HOTEL WITH THE COOLEST STAFF: Joshua Tree Inn
• STATE THAT TOTALLY SURPRISED ME BY BEING VERY COOL/CULTURAL: Oklahoma
• Motel most similar to Hotel California: PORT ORFORD in Oregon
• GROUNDSCOREs: 1 (40 dollars)
• Best Places with great live music: NOLA, Seattle, Portland
• Best Place to meet fun people while hanging outside the bars: Missoula, MT
• Best Camping Spot: Humboldt County Redwoods
• Nicest Scooterist I met on the road: Bobo
• Scooterist I had a crush on: He worked at Vespa Portland. 😉
• Coolest Random Thing: Someone gives me an Ice Cream Man sticker in Seattle. 5 days later, I meet him on my way to yoga, in Portland
• Favorite Coffee Shops: Butterfly Herbs, Missoula. Cherry Street, Tulsa. Vivace, Seattle. The Ugly Mug, Soquel, CA
• Best Sandwich: Falafel joint near NOHO Scooters
• State that I had never been: North Dakota
• Surprising number of people I stay in touch with who I met through www.zaadz.com: 6
• FAVORITE SMALL TOWN: Ukiah, CA (15,497)
• FAVORITE MIDDLE TOWN: Santa Fe, NM (63,000) or Missoula, MT (61,790)
• FAVORITE IN BETWEEN TOWN AND CITY: Tulsa, OK (382,872)
• FAVORITE CITY: Austin, TX (657,000+)
• City that threw down the red carpet, made me blush a bit from generosity: Seattle
• Irate Drunken felon who ridiculed the cause: 1, in Palm Springs

FREQUENTLY ASKED:
You rode that here? From there?
Does your butt hurt?
How fast can you go?
Do you have a support vehicle?
Don’t you feel scared? Or lonely?
How else are we going to keep “them” from coming over here and bombing us?
Really strange question: Wanna race for pinks? “Your Buddy against my Qlink”

Towns I came close to and just missed: Climax, KS
Places that I am now beyond: Hope, KS and Hope, ID

Ok, as of midnight, January 21, 2008, this is the list. If you think of anything you would like to see there, send me an email.

Thank you everyone who helped make the trip eventful and possible. YAY!