[An hour after arriving at the least-used border crossing in the U.S., we hopped a shuttle (one of the ~3 vehicles that crosses each day) that takes Mexicans over the border to see family in Phoenix, AZ, then rented a car to drive through the night in shifts to Sacramento, CA where my parents picked us up and escorted us to Davis, my motherland.]
[Glowing grins.]

Now for the fun stuff!
total route mileage = 2,628.7*
riding days = 68
average daily mileage = 39.2
rest days = 9
time frame = july 2-september 16, 2009
# of days over 50 miles = 17
# of days over 60 miles = 5
# of days over 100 miles = 1
most # of saddle sores at one time = 11
ratio of most # of saddle sores to pairs of socks lost = 2.75:1
size of biggest saddle sore: 3/4-inch diameter
total # of continental divide crossings: 32
most # of continental divide crossings in one day: 4
% riding days I cried = 19%
# animal species I had never seen before = 9
# of Wal-Mart sightings = 4
ratio of bags of chips consumed to threatening hummingbird encounters = 3.33:1
# of flat tires = 6 (each) (Matt got 3 in one mile near the Mexico border!)
# of flat seat tubes = 1 (each)
approximate % of days that the "I'm On a Boat" song was in my head = 95%
*Note: the total route miles listed is less than the initially intended 2,705 due to re-routes around impassable roads. Miles actually ridden are ~6% more (on our 29-inch, single-speed unicycles) due to the natural squiggle during the turn of a unicycle wheel, making the total ridden mileage 2,786.4 miles.
So, with little (if any) optimism from anyone who had actually ridden the route, we beat the odds and further expanded the horizon of possibility. Back in the real world, I am savoring every bit of music I can get in my ears; such a remote trip created quite a deprivation of one of my basic needs, as evidenced by frequent singing during the journey. Songs stuck in my head represented genres including, but not limited to, rap, children's songs, Gracie & Matt originals, and orchestral soundtrack scores to movies such as Dances With Wolves and Mr. Holland's Opus.
Rebounding from an extremely taxing endeavor has facilitated the alignment of my needs and wants, a blessing I wish would come more often. I need a job, and, ironically, I need balance in life; thankfully, those are the two things I want most right now. So... who's hiring? :-)
Finally I am going to post two lists of things I will and will not miss about the journey.
Things I will not miss:
1. mosquitoes
2. flies
3. bees
4. perpetual dehydration
5. wearing filthy clothes
6. wet-wipe baths
7. crotch-crunching washboarded roads
8. popping saddle sores
9. smelly feet
10. shivering in the mornings
11. lack of fresh food consumption
12. being too tired to eat dinner
13. being uncomfortable
14. getting stared at
15. wearing a dirty "diaper" (chamois shorts)
16. running out of toilet paper
17. waking up still exhausted
18. being in pain 12 hours/day
19. loathing, but needing, the sun
20. struggling to maintain adequate hygiene
21. chasing daylight
22. wondering what is floating in my water
23. high-altitude boogers
24. strangers telling me I'm sunburnt when I'm not
25. running out of food
Things I will miss:
1. killing mosquitoes
2. killing flies
3. killing bees
4. watching the sky change over the course of a day
5. uncluttered horizons
6. freshwater springs
7. speaking obnoxious baby-talk to cows, to either confuse or startle them
8. early morning wildlife sightings
9. having everything I could need in my pack
10. sleeping outside
11. rarity of mirrors
12. sporadic reliance on technology
13. taking breaks wherever & whenever I want, even sitting in the middle of the road
14. eating junk food and getting into amazing shape
15. deep appreciation for the simplest of conveniences
16. receiving uninhibited friendliness from strangers
17. seeing new things all day every day
18. night skies so starry, seen only when at least a day's ride from anywhere and anything
19. eating fingerfood all the time
20. groves of aspen trees
21. creating an evident positive impact on others simply by pedaling
22. a special comaraderie with other cyclists
Remember to
donate if you feel so inspired, and as always...
...Rock 'n' roll!
Yours Truly,
Team Blazing-But-Slowly-Healing Saddle Sores