Day 35

Today was the last day of this year's trip, making the decision in the morning to skip trying to get my tires changed. I can probably get a few thousand kilometers more out of them, and I'm broke. The ride wasn't going to be scenic, mostly just pounding pavement home. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the ride, I always still do.

From Hinton I headed east on the Yellowhead and then made the turn north onto Highway 44 just west of Edmonton. The route was a little longer than one of the alternate routes, but probably quicker as there aren't any cities to ride through. Until Slave Lake there were a lot of clouds, looking like I'd get a chance to ride through some thunderstorms. A few times I'd get some rain drops for a few kilometers but it never did start raining. After Slave Lake it was clear skies and warm, clouds only rolling in 40km from home.

Highway 88 north of Red Earth is a great road now that it's been paved all the way, smooth due to brand new surfaces, and nothing to slow one down. I did feel myself getting tired towards the end, stopping more often than usual just to stay alert. There's the potential for a lot of wildlife on the highway and I didn't want to get into a situation where I wasn't alert, possibly causing an accident. I never really ride with fear, but the two long trips I've taken have taught me to stay focused as anything could happen, usually because of something avoidable.

I caught a short shower about 20 minutes from home, not enough to even get wet. Another shower rolled through as I was putting my bike in the garage. I picked up a few things at the grocery store and then headed over to the folks for a coffee and to pick up the mail my sister-in-law Chrissy had faithfully collected for me while I was gone. Thanks Chrissy for keeping an eye on my place and going out of your way, I appreciate that a lot!

The ride today was the most kilometers I've done in a day, clocking in at 944km in 10 hours 30 minutes. I didn't make many stops as I didn't feel the need to.

Made it home safely, not one incident or breakdown in 17,458km! It's good to be home but I'm really going to miss being on the road and experiencing all the new scenery, and meeting so many great people.