Trip wrap-up

 

After two relaxing days in La Jolla I flew back to Boulder Saturday.  Nice to be home after another adventure.  Before the experience fades, here are a few takeaways and stats for the cyclists.

This trip was different in several ways than my South America and Balkans tours.  Being a US trip, there wasn't much in the way of cultural or language difference to explore or challenges to deal with.  This certainly made for an easier trip, but made it less interesting.  As I'd travelled most of the route by car over the years, there wasn't the same novelty factor either.  On the flip side, logistics were simple.  We had simple navigation, showers all but two nights and didn't have to carry much food due to restaurant and store availability.  Hat tip to WA, OR and CA for the hiker/biker campsite policies (no reservations needed, low cost, guaranteed spots), which made planning and daily flexibility a breeze.  Between the logistic ease, paved roads in good condition and the terrain we rode further and faster than my other trips.  Good to know I've got that in my legs.

We rode a bit over 1,900 miles with 93,000' of climbing in 33 riding days.  Averages were over 58 miles and 2,800' of climbing daily with an average speed of 12 mph.  We took 3 rest days, although Mo rode on one of them!

If you can live with riding on roads with heavy traffic, usually with decent to good shoulders, but not always, this would be a good "starter" long tour.  There were four sections of road and a couple of bridge crossings I found very stressful, but half of them could be dealt with through alternatives. Happy to answer any questions.  

Thanks to Mo for instigating a trip I've thought about for years and inviting me along.  Now it's time to start thinking of the next one!  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

and we're off!

On to Oregon

Travel, reentry and reflections