>>How did you trash your bike ? I see you carried on your trip so i assume thankfully no injuries.
>
>Went thru a red light on the very first day. Thought it was a Zebra but there was a hidden side road. Car came out - I went straight into the side ! :-{
>Bike was written off (frame buckled, but oddly the front wheel was fine). Found a bike shop, bought a new bike, and was back on the road in 3 1/2 hrs....

Sorry to hear that - glad you were OK.

Front wheels - some are amazingly strong. The early Rolf wheels were famous for that, in a straight head-on collision they would be untouched, at the price of crushing the down tube and thereby killing the frame :-/

Were you able to replace your bike with the same make/model/size? If not, I'm guessing you spent some time getting the new one fitted properly, otherwise on a long trip it could literally be a PITA.