Well, that's it guys... the Tenere is on it's way home at last (I hope! - better check ebay.com!)... and in double quick time!

I managed to find a shipper who could move really fast, and deliver it on time to where I want it to be... (ie. the UK, next week...) Yes I've had to pay (a lot more) for air-freight this time round, but the only other option was shipping by sea, and the logistics of that just didn't work out for me at this time - getting the bike to the coast, and not least around six weeks before it would be landed in the UK, would certainly mean missing the Lakeland meet... and we can't have that!

So, all being well, it seems the first Tenere in the US also turns out to be the last (for now at least), as it's due to fly out this weekend...

I've ridden it pretty much the equivalent of around the world these past six months (23,000+ miles), over every kind of terrain imaginable... snow drifts, ice, sand, rocks, mud, desert, mountains, rivers, trails, highways, interstates and everywhere in between... and it's been damn near perfect in every respect.

From the highest 'motorable road' in the USA (Pikes Peak: 14,110ft) to the lowest (West Side road, Death Valley: -282ft). Ridden across the country from pretty much the furthest point west (Gold Beach, Oregon) on the Pacific coast, via the southernmost point in the USA (Key West on the Gulf of Mexico) to South Beach Miami on the Atlantic - I've dipped my tyres in three oceans... then turned round and ridden all the way back west again!

From the mighty mountain passes in Colorado to the slickrock Jeep-trails in Moab, Utah... from the Blue Ridge Parkway and the legendary Hwy 129 - Tail of the Dragon, to downtown New Orleans and the Las Vegas strip. Traversed the Everglades, the Ozarks, the Mohave, and crossed the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, to take on the daddy of them all, the Rubicon trail...

The bike rocks! - Yamaha should be very proud of what they've created!

But now it's time to go home...

Draining the tank (syphon, then running the fuel pump until dry)...


Disconnect the battery and tape up terminals...


Bars wrapped in foam (cables stay connected), headlight removed and reattached upside down with one bolt...


Spare parts, camping kit and helmet box all fit in crate too... (plus a new tank for my XR650R x)


Almost ready to go (don't worry, Piglet is not still inside)... Yamaha crate has proved excellent - lightweight and manageable to assemble on your own...


xxx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

RESPECT!! Safe journey home. I think you deserve another award!

Very nice, hope you have a safe trip home

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Plough on

Safe journey home JMo. Be prepared, the weather is sh|te here.

hope you and the bike have a safe trip back.

what on earth are you going to do with yourself when you get back?

Hee hee - I've got a few plans (not least some cereal packet fabrication eh?), and plenty of writing to be getting on with!

Thanks for all your well wishes, and I hope you enjoy the stories - around the campfire and in TBM later this year of course...

xxx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

JMo,

Hope you (and the bike.....and piglet) have a safe trip back across the pond.

Thanks for all the photos and the updates from your latest adventure, it keeps us 'wannabe' adventurers dreaming of trips to come.

Hope it won't be too much of a shock to the system up in the lakes !!


Take it easy,


Nick.

Sounds like you've had a great trip there, I'm dead jealous!! Safe journey home, see you at the Lakes.

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-- Triumph Explorer 1200 --

Incredible journey, and welcome back to this side of the big lake. Your adventures has been inspiring, I hope I get the time and money to do something similar one day. And that we will continue to get stories and amazing pictures from you. =)

Safe trip back!

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Who do you think we are BAFTA???? lol