Post-Trip Recap

The cross country bike trip has now been over for a few days and I have had time for some reflection. The trip was everything I expected and more - more challenging, more grueling, more interesting, and most importantly - more enjoyable. I rode with a bunch of great people, many of whom, became true friends over the course of the 40 days. This is a big, beautiful country filled with really nice people. Seeing it from a bicycle is an amazing experience. I've tried to relate many of the daily experiences as they occurred in my daily postings so I won't repeat them. Perhaps the best way to summarize the trip is that when asked what was the highlight of the trip I can't answer - there were just too many. However when asked what was the lowlight of the trip it's an easy answer - OKLAHOMA! Not only were the headwinds horrible, but so was the scenery. And to top it off, Oklahoma was the site of Brett's tragic accident. For those of you interested in following Brett's recovery his family has a very informative blog at brettsrecovery.tumblr.com . We were all saddened by his accident, but our spirits are buoyed by his ongoing recovery.

Some of you have asked for statistics. The 40 day trip covered almost 3300 miles through 11 states. There were 15 century (100+ miles) rides of which I completed 14. The longest was 142 miles and the hardest was the 127 mile ride in Oklahoma on day 21 into 25-40mph winds - I completed both. Over the course of the trip I had 4 flat tires - some riders had over 10. And to my great surprise, I actually gained about 5 lbs - I think it mostly went to leg muscle since I no longer recognize my own legs. My dietary strategy of eating anything, anytime, anywhere seems to have worked. In particular my reputation as a world class consumer of chocolate milkshakes is now firmly established - as evidenced by the trail of empty milkshake containers that mark my passage across the country.

Out of the 15 riders who started the trip across the country, a handful pedaled every mile - kudos to each of them! I was not one of them. After pedaling 1805 miles from Santa Barbara to the intersection of our route with I-35 in northern Oklahoma I finally had to get off of the bike on day 23 due to quadricep cramping. I missed 244 miles of riding between there and Branson as I took two self-imposed rest days and pedaled only part of two other days in an effort to relieve the cramping. Besides the rest, I had several massages, increased my stretching, made a slight saddle adjustment, and most importantly (in my non-expert opinion) started taking calcium and magnesium supplements. Together these measures worked. From Branson to Charleston I kept riding stronger and, if we hadn't bumped into the ocean in Charleston, I think I could have kept riding indefinitely. As part of my risk management strategy I did stay off the bike on the morning of day 29 due to the combination of heavy rain and heavy traffic; and I missed the day 33 ride into Nashville in order to attend a Southern Company board meeting. All-in-all I pedaled almost 90% of the 3300 miles of the trip.

So a question I've already been asked - "Are you going to complete the segments you missed?". The obsessive side of me says yes, but the rational side says no - and I hope the rational side wins. I know the exact segments I missed and with a little logistical support from Jan it would be relatively easy to cycle them during one of our annual Spring driving migrations between Arizona and Maine. But the fact that it would be easy, makes it completely out of context with the journey that I just completed. One of the reasons I did this trip was to challenge my physical limits at age 67 - the agony of the quad cramping was therefore an integral part of the journey. Overall I'm very pleased with my accomplishment and don't feel the need to check the "pedaled every mile" box. To those who might see it differently, I say "do the trip" and then let's talk.

Speaking of doing the trip. If you are an experienced cyclist or even just a "wanna be" cyclist like I was up until a year ago and have dreams of cycling across the U.S. my advice is don't over think it - just commit to it, train for it, and do it! You will never regret doing it - you may always regret not doing it. It is truly an experience of a lifetime.

I've include a few additional pictures which I hope illustrate the enjoyment I experienced in cycling across this wonderful country.

Signing off,


Steve