Back to life,back to reality.

EVENING !

I thought I would leave it a few days before I wrapped the trip up to allow some time to get over jet lag and let it all sink in. Its now been over a week so I thought I better pull my finger out and get on with it.

I think I will do this post in the style of interviewing myself (read the questions in the voice of Hugh Grant).

Hi Matt,congratulations on completing your journey.

Thank you.

So lets start on a positive,what was the highlight of your trip ?

The end… hahah I joke I joke. Its difficult to narrow it down to just one highlight. The big stuff I saw was cool but I didnt see as much of it as I would have liked to. The hoover dam was massively impressive and I loved the Flintstones theme park (which is now up for sale). But I would have to say the highlight(s) of the whole journey were all the people I met along the way.

From the clueless taxi driver on the first day,to all of the hotel reception staff,the Kawasaki owners club, Ande and friends for taking me to the weird witch burlesque, Syd for listening to me moan for months,introducing me to loads of greyhounds and looking after me while in Pittsburgh,Robbie,Graham (who’s help I would be screwed without),The legend that is Rob,everyone at scooter works for going beyond the call of duty several times,the patched up biker who I met at the gas station in the middle of nowhere,the native American who cursed me,the bar tender and medical students who took showed me a good time in Omaha Nebraska, everyone at Sportique scooters in boulder (especially lovely Liv who is ignoring my hopeless advances),everyone at scooter nation in vegas the builder guy in Yosemite who called me a ‘crazy son of a bitch’,the cop who shouted at me (twat),Robin and Jimmy who helped me out in Vegas,Diego and everyone at the San Fran scooter centre,Rick and everyone at Zeitgeist in San Francisco for getting me horribly drunk the day before a 5 hour flight and everyone else who I met along the way YOU ALL MADE MY TRIP (sorry if I missed anyone out I met so many people).

Wow it sounds like you met a lot of cool people. If you were going to do the trip again would you do anything differently ?

The only thing I would really change would be to give myself more time. There were so many places I missed out on visiting because of time limits. Except for a couple of slightly freaky towns I would have liked to have spent at least a couple of days in every place I visited.

What was the hardest part of the trip ?

Hmmm probably spending so much time on my own inside my own head with only FF to talk to. Theres a lot going on up there at the moment and not all of it is good and when you spend at least 5 hours on the road every day trapped inside a helmet it gives you a lot of time to go over and over things until you go slightly mad. Im glad I did it on my own,it was a challenge and exactly what I needed but only talk to strangers in bars or hotel front desk people takes its toll eventually.

How do you feel now you are back ?

Poor,very poor. It also feels strangely like I have never left. The second I stepped into my house I felt like I hadnt been anywhere,its nice to be home but its all slightly depressing and going to take a while to get used to again. I think I am definitely more confident, I just need to keep the momentum going and start planning what I am going to do next.

Do you miss your scooter ?

At first I didn’t, I was glad to see the back of it but now I cant wait to get it back,fix what ever is wrong with it and ride it again. I am amazed it carried me so many miles loaded up with stuff,over mountains and through deserts without having any serious mechanical issues. People knock these scooters all the time but this trip proved how reliable they can be.

So what’s next ?

Get my scooter back,get it running perfectly again and then ride from lands end to John o groats in as quick a time as possible. After that I will probably start planning and saving up for a trip around Europe. I want to do something like this every year if possible. I also need to start getting my life in order and making a few changes here and there.

How is Fake Franco ?

He’s very grimy from all those hours on the road and has been very quiet since I got home in fact I havent heard him speak once. I think he is just jealous because I have real Franco now and he is much more interesting but just as arrogant.

Ok,I cant think of any more questions right now. Interviewing yourself it quite difficult and its hard to talk to yourself this way without sounding like an idiot. is there anything else you would like to add ?

Its ok I understand, I would like to thank –

Tasso scooter parts – http://www.lmlparts.co.uk/
Wildcat scooters who really saved the day- https://www.facebook.com/wildcatscooterparts
Love LML – http://lovelml.co.uk/
Moto GB – http://www.motogb.co.uk/
Genuine scooters – http://www.genuinescooters.com/
Scooterworks Chicago – http://scooterworkschicago.com/
Sportique scooters Colorado – http://www.sportiquescooters.com/
Scooter nation Vegas – http://scooternation.com/
Graham Burbank.
Stanley Whippet – https://www.facebook.com/stanley.whippet?fref=ts
James Cargo – https://www.facebook.com/JamesCargoShipping?fref=ts
Gps Kevin – https://sites.google.com/site/gpskevin/adventurerides
Hurry Home Hounds – https://www.facebook.com/hurryhomehounds?fref=ts
Hounds first – https://www.facebook.com/HoundsFirstSighthoundRescue?fref=ts

And everyone back at home and in the US who read my blog,donated and talked to me and supported me along the way THANK YOU you all raised £2,282.

See you next time which will hopefully be sooner rather than later.

https://www.justgiving.com/Matt-Tipper1/

NIGHT !