One of the things that surprised me didn't occur until a week or so after I got back home. I talked with some guys I worked with who had been following my blog. They all expressed surprise that I made it all the way around the country without giving up. Every one of them (as far as I could tell) seemed to think that I would only get so far before buying a plane ticket and arranging to have my bike shipped back to Maryland. To be honest I felt a bit insulted by this, especially since I never once contemplated doing that. Honestly, the thought never occurred to me, even on the worst days. After I thought about it some more however, I could see where they were coming from. None of these guys have ever done anything like what I did. I say this not to brag about it, only to point out that the people I was talking too had no idea what this trip was really like. I knew they read my blog but after reading it from start to finish myself over the last couple days I realize that it didn't do a very good job telling the story. Oh, there were some good pictures and video and it covered the main points pretty well but I don't think I did a good enough job writing about what it was actually like on the road for five weeks strait. I'm not sure I'm a good enough writer to really do that. The fact is that I really, truly enjoyed it. Even on the bad days when I was tired, felt poorly, was being rained on or run over by trucks I was still having a good time. I felt like I was accomplishing something, that I was still making miles. I could pull up my mental map and mark how far I'd come since the day before. I think there are a lot of people who can't do that in their day to day life. Maybe they can with the big stuff in life (buying a house, getting married, having kids etc); but every day? I suspect not. I know that's not the case in my life. I usually go much longer than I'd like before accomplishing something new and noteworthy. That wasn't the case during this trip. Nearly every day I saw something or some place that I'd never seen before. Even if it was just a desolate, windblown, sun parched stretch of Nebraska it was still somewhere I hadn't been too before. That's a good feeling and it only got stronger when I saw the nicer parts of the country or met someone new or saw family or old friends I hadn't seen in years. That's why I never felt like quitting.
I'm going to list some of the good and bad aspects of the trip. I'll start with the bad so I can end on a good note. I'll give you three of each.
Disappointing Aspects:
- The Midwest
The Midwest was a difficult part of the country to get past. That's not to say that there isn't good stuff to see or do there. It's just that I didn't know too many people in that area and it was hot and humid and desperately lacking in any kind of interesting geographical features. I remember getting excited when I saw a hill. From northern West Virginia/eastern Ohio, I really didn't know anyone until I hit Spokane. That's a long time to go without seeing anyone familiar. Combine that with the unending sameness of Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska and it's a potent mix. The fact that I did this stretch of the country on my first week out didn't help. I wasn't yet acclimated to the life.
- The Pacific Coast Highway
I've been along parts of this highway before and really enjoyed it. I was looking forward to doing the whole road from north to south on my bike. Sadly this didn't happen. Time and weather conspired against me and caused me to miss large stretches of it. And of the parts I did see, most were fogged in. In fact, there was only a small part of the the PCH in northern California where I wasn't either engulfed in fog or pelted with rain. Obviously my disappointment lies not in the PCH itself, but in the weather that kept me from enjoying it. I feel like this is an unfinished part of my journey that I'll need to get back too at some point in the future.
- Tennessee
Like the PCH, I don't blame Tennessee for being disappointing. I blame time. When I got to Tennessee, I was running out of it. I wasn't able to enjoy the music or food of the state. These are both things that I was very much looking forward too. Again, I consider this an unfinished part of my journey.
Good Aspects:
- The Black Hills of South Dakota
This was an unexpected treat. I knew the Black Hills were supposed to be beautiful but I was not expecting them to be that beautiful. It makes me understand somewhat why the Lakota Indians consider them sacred. I entered the area from the south and made my way north. The further north I got the more tourists I encountered (the proximity to Mt. Rushmore probably had something to do with that). Having been a tourist myself at different times I perhaps should not feel such an aversion to them but somehow I just can't help myself. There's something about seeing a tour bus barreling along through these "sacred" hills that just seems wrong. Nonetheless, the Black Hills in general and the southern portion in particular were exceptionally beautiful and I would go back there at the drop of a hat if I could.
- Bighorn National Forrest
Another unexpected gem. There are three aspects of this area that caused me to really enjoy it. 1) The fact that it was cool and not humid and noticeably lacked the hordes of insects flying around that so negatively impacted my trip up to this point. The temperature and lack of humidity are what really did it though. I've spent the last two summers in southern Maryland (which is more of a fetid swamp then Washington D.C. is, and D.C. is well known for it's terrible summers) and then Bahrain, the only place it seems in the Middle East that has the temperatures of a desert but the humidity of a sauna. To feel a cool mountain breeze on my face again was a delight. 2) The sheer beauty of the place. Approaching from the east, you climb a very steep hill where the road switchbacks until you reach the summit which is a flat butte with forests and small hills and streams all over the place. It's all up around 9,000-10,000 ft in elevation so the air is thin but is somehow more invigorating despite that. 3) The history of the place. This is where I stumbled across the Medicine Wheel, the (maybe) 800 year old indian holy site. I already talked about it in an earlier post so I won't go into detail here but it was very interesting. No one knows who built the thing or even when it was really made. Guesses and estimations are all we have to go on. I only explored a very small part of the Bighorn but I'm guessing there are plenty more sites that I never got to see. I think I could happily spend weeks there just exploring.
- The South West
This was a big surprise for me. Before I got there I was dreading a little bit entering this area. I expected it to be hot and desolate and not very interesting. As it turns out, it was hot and at times desolate but it was certainly not uninteresting. Southern Arizona turned out the be quite beautiful. I can see now that the six months I spend there some years ago was tainted by my job experiences and made it difficult to really appreciate the area. New Mexico, despite it's terrible roads (and the horrible judgment used when assigning the term "state highway" to certain roads) turned out to be a real delight filled with beautiful scenery and interesting places like Chaco Canyon and the Ghost Ranch.
And finally, I can't fail to mention the people I met along the way. The majority were people I've know for some time; family and friends, old Army buddies, etc. but there were a few new faces too. All the great (and the not so great) experiences wouldn't have meant as much if I didn't have people to tell them too. This also goes for all the people who followed along on my blog and left comments for me to read. I'm not going to go into any detail about everyone I saw or talked to along the way but somehow it worked out that I didn't see one person that I wished I hadn't. I really had fun with each one.
I'm not really sure how to wrap this up so I'll just tell you a couple of ideas I have for my next trip (whenever that ends up being).
I'd really like to see Colorado and Utah. I've heard nothing but good things about these two states that I didn't set foot in either during this trip. It might be difficult to pull off a trip like that, by the time I ride out there I wouldn't have too much time left before I'd have to head back. Maybe I could fly there and rent a bike to go exploring on.
Canada, especially Quebec has always interested me. This would be a much more doable trip then my previous idea. I think it'd be neat so see this area of the world that just doesn't fit in with it's surroundings, the only non english speaking area for hundreds of miles and the only French speaking area in North America (I think).
The South is an area I breezed through. Even then I only hit the northern part of the South. I've never been to the Carolinas, Georgia or Florida. These are areas I'd love to see but I think I'd have to time it for the right time of year given my aversion to hot, humid climates. I think it could be done though. Fortunately, I have a friend who will soon be moving to Jacksonville, FL. This might just facilitate a trip. Additionally, I've always wanted to see something launched into space and the last Space Shuttle launch is currently scheduled for this coming February. How cool would that be?
Like I said, I'm not sure how to wrap this up. Maybe that means it's not over, just delayed until I start on my next trip.........
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