THE CALIFORNIA CADDMAN

Fresno, California is where The Caddman hangs out, with his lovely wife, his lovely dogs, his lovely cats, a random assortment of fish and cars, and a very nice bike. I spent a couple of nights with that little troop, and it was a happy, friendly, restful and restorative time. Mac and Gwyn have stayed there in the past, and they say the same thing - its a pretty nice place to be. We left there this morning and headed for Los Angeles, where this particular adventure for me and The Bomb together now ends. After many days of serious thought, I have made a tactical decision, based on a combination of issues that really amounted to being concerned about my safety and Cherry Bomb's, given the remoteness of the areas I was thinking of heading into, with no company, no mobile phone coverage to even access emergency services, the relentless heat, general fatigue from the emotional burden of all of those things combined, and suspected electrical problems with the bike.
But I am ecstatically happy with what I've achieved on this ride, the challenges I have faced and overcome and been shaped by, and the friendships I have made which I hope will continue for the rest of my life. It has been a truly fantastic experience, even in the rough patches I hit along the way. Something great and shiny and positive came out of every experience, ESPECIALLY the challenging ones, and I am better and happier for it. I've got to where I needed to get to, in my mind, in my heart, and in geography. The truth is, even if I took two years, or even five, I still wouldn't see everything this fantastic country has to offer, and I've had to make many compromises en route, and not see a lot of what I wanted to, because of the time constraints. I still have a list, and what is on it will wait for next year, when I can come back with company, in a cooler climate, perhaps in the fall, when the colours will be picture-postcard spectacular, hire a Harley, and see some more!
I've had an absolute BLAST!!!!!!!!! Despite some hairy moments, every day has made me smile, I've been showered with gifts, both real and intrinsic, and I wouldn't swap or change this adventure for the world. It has been awesome.
And its not over yet!!! Cherry is safely with a DECENT shipper, and I am in Santa Monica, spending time at the beach and generally enjoying the sunshine for a few days before jumping a plane back to Mac's for a while before coming home at about the same time as originally planned. A number of happy little souls will be riding to Macs for a reunion party on 25th August, from various places around the USA, so we can have a final fling together before they all wave me off, into the sunrise and onto the next adventure.
I just can't tell you all how happy I am. I'm really, really overjoyed at what I've done. Part of me still can't believe I've really done it. Cherry Bomb did me very proud. She's a real little star and I love her to bits, and we make a good team. I kissed her goodbye today, and I told her I'll see her in Dunedin, in a month or so.
Next big ride will be to the Burt Munro Challenge, Invercargill, November this year. Any kiwi blog-watchers willing to join that one?