a final word

i've been home a week now, i need to wrap things up

the standard question:  how did the trip go, how was it?  my standard reply:  it was a mixed bag. it was definitely different from my previous trips.  

    1)  of course the geography was significangly different.  the flatness which provided vast horizons.  most of my pictures became panoramas.

    2)  the wind.  i was lucky about not getting much head wind, but there was always wind coming from from one direction or the other.

    3)  the weather.  it started out cold and wet, ended up hot and dry.  the dry browness was the lasting impression, though.  perhaps because it was last or perhaps because i've only experienced something similar riding through eastern oregon/washington.  but even that wasn't the same.  endless sage dessert, tans, browns, dusty green, dried red browns.  with no water.  i will never forget the oasis house at mi. 43 between la junta and walsenburg.

    4)  but the biggest impact was the heavy shadow of covid19.  stores, restaurants, breweries, cafes being closed changed everything.  it was hard to find a place to just sit, relax, eat a good meal.  but most of all, there were few conversations.  the couple i did have were from 10 feet away, not the easiest way to talk with someone. and, of course, the lack of warmshowers' hosts.  it really makes a difference having those interludes every few days where you talk with someone, relax, eat a meal, sleep in a bed.  it cuts the edge of the loneliness of the road.   And of course, there's the warm shower.  hotels are sad and lonely places when you're travelling solo, especially when common spaces are closed.

luck. good fortune. whatever, continues to be my friend.  like when my wallet fell out of my pocket and i didn't realize it right away.  i was able to retrace my steps and find it on the forest floor.  or finding that rest area complete with picnic shelter near the kansas/colorado border, which allowed me to shelter untouched by that severe thunderstorm that blew up in the middle of the night.  or the one hotel after riding in the cold rain for a couple of hours.  or the house at mi. 43 on colorado rt 10.  and once again avoiding any mechanical issues, not even a flat tire.

i love my motebecane.  though i need to take care of the rust and get that front derailleur working properly.  i only used 5 gears the entire trip, only the large front chain ring.

i'm already starting to feel some of the separation from pain, distance makes the heart grow fonder effects.  one question that comes up is will i continue to finish the rest of this cross country ride i started three years ago.  i remember being in albuquerque and being able to see west into the distance, seeing the dry dessert and mesas waiting out there and thinking, "man, i'm glad i'm not going on the rest of the trip".  well, one week distant, and i'm already contemplating it.  3 more weeks of riding to reach the west coast.  of course, two of those weeks are through dessert, including death valley.

So, some numbers:

    15 days on the road

     12 riding, essentially 3 rest days (coming into santa fe had about 10 mi. of riding)

    1,000 miles

     83 mi/day avg. on the days i rode

      2 century days

      2 mountain climbs

      5 gears used

      5 nights in hotels, 2 nights in a hostel, 8 nights camping (3 state parks, 1 national forest, 4 gorilla)

      0 flat tires

      0 mechanical issues

      6 lbs lost

one more year