Epilogue: Random Thoughts and Observations

Now that we've completed our bicycle journey across the U.S., there are certain observations that I made during the course of this tour that I would like to share:

• The Phenomenon of the Alternating Aching Body Parts.  Oddly, only one particular body part would hurt me per day.  One day, it would be my ankle.  The next day, my knee.  Another day, my little toe.  Then, my shins would be sore, or maybe my hip.  The point being - it was never everything at once,  or even two things at a time.  Always (thankfully) just one.  In the morning, when I would start riding, it wouldn’t be long before I would figure out which body part was going to hurt that day.  Once I got that “memo,” I could relax, resign myself to the fact that my [x] was going to hurt that day, and proceed with the ride.

• The Great Shake Debate.  On a national basis, McDonalds makes the best chocolate shakes, however, they also rated highest on the "disappointment” scale, with the most incidents of their shake machines being broken.  Sonic, however, wins the Southern Tier competition, hands down.  Sonic shakes are awesome.  Notwithstanding, the absolute best chocolate shake I had during the tour came from the Burger King in Livingston, Alabama - where, instead of topping the shake with whipped cream, they topped it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.  (I encountered no other Burger King that does this.)

• Quitting.  There are several food-related bad habits I have acquired during this tour that I need to break - one of which is the "daily chocolate shake" bad habit.

• Just a Number.  I love the fact that there is no “age“ on the bike.  There were so many exceptional riders in our group that were north of retirement age.  I can only hope to be riding as well as they are for the next 30 or more years.  

• Can't Explain It. The fact that I only had two flat tires this entire trip is nothing short of amazing.  Very unusual, especially in light of all the interstate riding we did.

• My Husband is Awesome:  A special shout out & thank you to my husband and all-around best buddy, Art.  He signed up for this adventure with me, even though we knew he had a prior obligation that would prevent him from completing the entire tour (he had to leave the tour at Day 19 to attend a work conference in Portland, Oregon).   Not only that - but he planned and endured an elaborate travel itinerary in order to stay on the tour with me as long as possible and get to Tybee Island to meet me at the finish (which required a red-eye flight from Portland).  Art - you are the BEST and I love you!         

• My sincere thanks to Our Lady of Ghisallo - the patron saint of cyclists - for keeping us all safe during this journey.

•  Life is good.  : )