Epilogue
Well, that is that. I've ridden my bicycle from sea to shining sea. Over 2,700 miles in 39 days. About 70 miles per day. A few days above 100°, maybe one day below 50°, a few rainy days, and many sunny days. Highs and lows.
The first week was very challenging. During and after day one, I wanted to quit. Day one, caught me so off guard and hit me so hard, that was scared, scared of failure. Quitting after day one? How would that look? How would people perceive me? Quit after one day, after spending a year+ planning this out. Well, it wasn't out of the question.
Day one broke me. It took a few rides that first week to rebuild the confidence within myself. Once I rebuilt that confidence again, I was back to my old self, laser-focused on the goal at hand. To rebuild that confidence, I leaned on my support, family, friends, and mentors. They helped convince me I could complete this when I didn't know if I could. Thank you for that. All of you know who you are.
Little by little it got better and better. At some point, it started to become fun, and I remembered why I wanted to do this in the first place. Someplace in Texas, I had completed the ride in my head. After that, it was smooth sailing. A few rookie mistakes with mechanical problems, but not the end of the world.
When you are bike touring, you do and see so much that it makes it feel like time is longer than it actually is. My month-and-a-half trip felt like a lot more. Time is weird when you are living so much. I swear that I got over 3 months of life and experiences from this little trip.
Looking back, it went by fast. It is over, I had fun, I am glad I did it, and I will do something similar in a few.
Some general stuff:
99% of the people I met were awesome. I think the media paints a divided world, but that is not the case. I didn't meet anyone, that was "out to get me." People are friendly and willing to lend a helping hand.
People made this trip what it was. From awesome hosts to strangers, I met along the way, they made it worth doing. I never would have guessed it going into it. It was hardly about cycling at all. Cycling was just the mode of transport for this adventure.
No, my butt does not hurt. You get used to seating in the saddle all day. No, my legs are not sore, you get used to pushing the pedals all day.
Yes, I ate a lot of food. The go to food was Pop-Tarts. They are cheap, calorie-dense, and easily digestible. I honestly probably averaged 6 pop-tarts a day. since there are 2 in 1 packages, 12 individual pop-tarts per day. Give or take. Other food included the to go pouches of tuna, chocolate milk, bananas, peanuts, and other misc. candy with a lot of sugar.
Bugs were only bad in Texas, in every other place they were not noticeable.
By the end of the trip, I had gotten so tan, that I could no longer get sunburnt, pretty cool.
I flew back yesterday, and there was a little get-together with the family. Good to see them. Next is getting ready for my move to Stevens Point. Lots of packing.
I am not sure how one ends a blog like this. I really want to thank all my hosts who gave me shelter, warm showers, food, and advice. I want to thank all my friends and family who offered support along the way.
I am not one to go out of my way to motivate people to do stuff, but all I can say in general, about life in general, is don't be scared. People are good. Take a chance. See what happens, you never know, you may stumble on an adventure of a lifetime.
Thank you all for reading and so long!
