AMERICANA PODUNK 2012 TRAVEL TALLY

AMERICANA PODUNK 2012 TRAVEL TALLY

DATES: May 4 - October 12 2012 (161 Days)

MILEAGE: 16,654

21 STATES: WV, VA, NC, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, OK, AR, MO, IA, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, UT, CO

EXPENSES

FUEL: $1570.99 (142 Stops)

BIKE: $845.21 (Tires and Labor, Oil, Oil Pressure Switch, Rear Shock…)

FOOD MAKE: $197.38 (Cans of food, Crackers, Noodles…)

RESTAURANT: $357.13 (Biggest Waste)

PAID SLEEPING: $258.19 (2 Hotels: NC: $43 & TX: $34, Permit Camp in Big Bend NP: $10, Guadalupe NP: $16, Cherokee, IA City Park: $5, Gila Hot Springs Ranch: $10, 2 Rally's: $140)

NATIONAL PARKS: $114

MISC: 49.66 (Head phones, Stamps, Postcards, Batteries…)

ICE CREAM: $10.77 (Had to)

VICE: $191.33 (Drink & Smoke)

DESIGN: $380.63 (2 Cameras, Pens, Postcard Printing and Production, blah, blah, blah...)

TOTAL: $3454.66

AVG DAILY COST: $24.69

Above is the tally on my cost for 161 days of being on the road or maybe I should put it, 'away from home'.I departed WV with a worse case scenario of $350 a week. It's great to see I totally cut that in half. I had no destinations in mind.

Majority of the time I was solo, couple of times I traveled with friends, and for a week and a half, my wonderful Folks and Brother popped out West to join in the odyssey.

Somedays I traveled, some days I stayed where I was. Somedays I stayed with friends, somedays I stayed with strangers that became great friends.

I dispersed camped in National Forests or Wilderness for free, guerilla camped at a couple of boat ramps in Texas and Oklahoma, slept on a farm road in NC, slept off the side of the road by the railroad tracks in NM and slept on a number of picnic tables. I splurged on 2 hotel rooms that I shouldn't have and paid to pitch a tent a couple of instances that couldn't have been helped.

What's fun about this is seeing just how cheap I can get by, and what's more fantastic, is I can do it even cheaper. People talk of travel in the US as expensive, I have proved 'THEM' wrong. One can literally sleep for free across our wonderfully large spot of land. One can get by on little food and it doesn't have to be warm. This is 5 star traveling cos it's actual living, not being a tourist, but being a traveler. Experience the real world, not the packaged deals. There's travelers out there getting by so much cheaper than this but I travel with machine. It's great to look at how much more I spent on Bike than myself, but this is for the 2 of us. Bike and I. Me and Bike. We're one in the same.

After calculating the cost, it's evident there's areas that can be cut out all together such as eating at restaurants. I felt at times that I was treating myself by going to a restaurant by not eating out of cans or making noodles. Hindsight, a full belly is a full belly regardless of what I stuffed in my gut. What I spent in eateries could have gotten me by for days shopping in grocery or dollar stores which I typically did.

One would say vice could be cut out altogether, but it provides fun and contemplation. If you meet someone, you have tobacco to offer or a nip of spirits for friendly companionship.

Other spots of cost savings is labor involving tire changes. I need to start taking care of that myself. I've carried tires strapped across the ass of Bike but always used shops to switch them out. For instance in Laredo, a shop had me by the balls. The rear tire wore faster than expected (good ol' southern heat) and I had to take what I could get. Meanwhile, I had to tires sitting in OK at my Brother's.

OIL CONSUMPTION: 1/2 to 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. 3 Oil filters. Oil used: Castrol or Valvoline Dyno SG rated

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 40-45+MPG (Octanes 85-87)

REAR TIRE MILEAGE: 6K if I'm lucky (Conti Go, Metzler and a Heidenau)

FRONT TIRE MILEAGE:  8-12K. (Conti Go's)

AVERAGE SPEED: 45-60MPH (RIDE SLOW AND STOP OFTEN!!!)

There is just too much out here not to see,

I have stumbled into my priority.

This has been a test run.

Love, H