Doug, how many miles were on your OEM Bridgestone tires when you made the change to the Avons ??????
I've got over 10k on my bike now, and the tires are still quite good.
I had a little over 9k miles. I didn't think they would last the trip. I took good care of them checking tire pressure. That was never an issue. Maybe once every week and a half I had to put a pound in. Maybe the SE TEXAS heat and roads wore them out.
When I headed back home, I routed myself through Harrison, AR to pick up Hwy 7 down to Hot Springs, then to Arkadelphia. That was a nice run through the mountains.