With regards to this expedition, I have more people to thank than there are miles on my motorcycle. To no one, do I owe a greater debt of gratitude than my friend of many years, Mehdi Akbari, as he inspired and pushed me not only to work hard, but to think hard, to expand my vision of this journey until it far exceeded even my earliest dreams for it. For her masterful editorial knowledge and way with words I am grateful to Aliselina Strong. She polished, refined and strengthened my early writings and made remarkable contributions in the literary portion of my endeavors. I am also most grateful to Donald and Pam Chriske for taking care of the odds and ends of my departure, and for being loyal and an incredible friends. I do not know what I would have done with my meager belongings, nor how I would have ever gotten started without their help.

I thank the wonderful staff of Lewis & Clark Library in Montana for their troubles. There were many nights that they patiently waited on me as I was the last person to walk out of the building. For introducing me to many great readings on subject of nutrition, I thank Jennifer Jones, as I learned more than I could take in. I am indebted to Fariba Geranmayeh for the translation of my documents into Farsi, and for being a diligent correspondent for Farsi-speaking media. Ever since I was a child she has been an eternal source of inspiration and an amazing mentor to me.

I am also deeply indebted to GS Resources website and its users for their artful and thorough knowledge of classic Suzuki GS motorcycles. They are the true backbone of my motorcycle maintenance proficiency, and I know I can count on their help anywhere in the world that my mission takes me. For helping with photography and early preparation of this website, I thank Mariah Davis and her beautiful daughter Jasmine. This five-year-old child has brought me more joy and enchantment than anyone alive could ever have.

I would like to thank Ersun Ozer for his wonderful advice and tremendous help with the Helena banquet. He was first to offer his help when I most needed it. I am also indebted to Kyle Ford for his loyalty and friendship as he took care of the odds and ends of the Helena Banquet. He selflessly donated his time to prepare dinner for 300 guests and without him, it would have been hard to pull it off. I would like to thank Larry Winslow for his generosity and kindness. He has devoted his life to helping others at whatever cost, and I was no exception. For helping with the nightmarish logistics of this trip, I’m indebted to Joe DeLuca for he was my right hand wherever and whenever I needed help. I am grateful to Cody Eickmeyer for redesigning the website in a more professional way. He spent many days patiently fixing what I broke.

Tom Cox of “Poet Motorcycles” was literally a  god send. He is a Motocross champion, pastor, and one hell of a motorcycle mechanic. He went above and beyond to dress up this old gal with new heavy duty shocks, new fork seals, new fuel petcock, new valve cover and breather gaskets, new clutch with new springs, complete tune up, and computerized tire balance.

Robin and Lonnie Morgan of the “Leather Store And More” provided all my riding gear. They generously supplied me with high quality leather jacket, chaps, gloves, head and face gear, bandana and goggles. This magnanimous donation was made in memory of Bruce Allen, Shorty Korang, and Karl & Char Pentecost who lost their lives in a motorcycling accident.

Bill Ryder fabricated the brackets to which the rear aluminum boxes are securely mounted and tweaked this motorcycle to its final shape. He added a crash bar and a set of KTM hand-guards to complete the gunship look of the bike. The night before the expedition started, my regulator/rectifier went out. He rode out 20 miles in rain at 10 pm to bring me a new part and fix the bike. He is an amazing mechanic and dear friend. There are not enough words to thank this man.

Debbie and Tom Matte of Batteries Plus donated a new AGM battery for the beast along with batteries for my camera, laptop, cell phone and a very cool solar panel to have an auxiliary source of charging. Debbie cares for me so much that she reminds me of my mother. I couldn’t have asked for a better friendship.

I owe a million thanks to Andrew Pogany for the great affection he has shown for this undertaking and me.  He has spent many hours working on my website and editing my writings. Because of his efforts, my jumble of words makes sense to others beside myself. I would also like to thank the great musician and composer, Mr. Kevin MacLeod, for his wonderful music and his generosity to share it.

I would be remiss to not thank Matt Hanscom, Jared Williams, Tom Murphy, Bill Rea, Andy from British Columbia (with much regret I’m blanking on his last name), Wade Bowman, Dave Graf, Ted Radke, Tom Kent and Todd Cannon for giving a much needed hand with my motorcycle troubles. These fellow motorcyclists selflessly offered parts off of their own rides, their workshops and sleeping quarters to get me back on the road.

The following individuals have contributed valuable time and resources to the implementation of this expedition.  Without their help and support, this journey would not have been possible. There are not enough words to express my gratitude.

Aliselina Strong . Rich & Mary Lou Weddle . Kyle McIntyre . Trevor Brandt . Lisa Larsen . Renon Ford . Bill Sampson . Rich Conway . Tara Maierle . Robin & Lonnie Morgan . Mary pullen . Larry & velda Winslow . Suzanne & Gary Willems . Tom Blankenship .  Craig Hagemeier . Todd & Sheri Sullivan . Michelle Rogers . Bart Bratlien . Bethany Flint . Kristy Brown . Justin Heaton . Chuck Siefert . Julie Price . Laura George . Gina Wiest . Mariah Davis . Juli Sanders . Ried Garrett . Suzanne Bahny .  John, Tom & Eva Cox . Valerie Palliser . Bob & Sue Brookie . Jeri Rittle . Holger & Ayrne Meyer . Robert Pressberg . Adam Laceky . Joe DeLuca . Ersun Ozer . Kyle & Troy Ford . Cody Eickmeyer . Wendy Holton . Don Chriske. Greg Morrison . Mark Lauf . Dave Burningham . Ken & Pat Stockburger . Amiee Sue Broadbent . Joshua Shultz . Matthew & Kelly Fischer . Alex Papu Rincon . Marci S. Williams . Katherine Ballein . Renee Kowalski . Thomas J. McCarvel . Diana Knox . Lynn Hellman . Bonnie Miller . Hannah Eller . Ann Waickman . Rex Seeley .  Kristy Brown . Scott Connole . Max Pigman . Brian Smith . Mark & Brenda Craige . Sabina Butorac . Judy Rousseau . Pam Gerwe . Jean-Luc Darcy . Chung Young . Ronald Schulten . Geoffrey Tayner . Tim McMullen . Kim Geisbecht . Cameron Kendrick . David Mussell . Dave Graf . Stephanie Peacock . Denis Bouchard . Sue Hickman . Nancy Sheane . Juanita Kremer . Rob & Lisa Hayward . Garrett Dulaney . Chuck Williams . Hari Crowder . Todd Cannon . Ted Radke . Tom Murphy . Rob Eberle . Steve Myrack . Bill Rea . Gib Acuna . Kurt Beckman . Thomas D’Acquisto . Andrew Pogany . Wade Bowman . Steven Lovestrand . Irina Loftus . Cynthia Quispe . Matthew Hanscom . Jared Williams . Bradley Maynard . Marinus van Dam . Farhad Bashirtash . Dave Urner . Will Michael . Harrison & Elizabeth Caudill . Andy Donnell . Gregory Quinn . Sean Pringle . Kevin Parott . Lynn Minthorne . Ahti Peura . Jeff Saunders . Alyssa Hastings .  Stacey Hall . Jorge Zmud