I've seen a million places, and I've ROCKED them all!!!!

It is bittersweet as I sit at my desk to write my last post.  I feel like I am a different person today, than when I started this blog almost 9 weeks ago.  The trip was so much harder than I expected, both mentally and physically, but after 50 days I can honestly say I would not change a thing.

Today I wanted to share with you the 10 most important things I learned on this trip, because what would have been the point of doing this if I did not actually grow from it...and not just as a cyclist.

10) There are 100's of things to do with a baggie.  On this trip you quickly learn the value of a baggie.  It becomes your wallet, your cell phone case, your camera case, the place to mix concoctions for your bum, etc.  Some people have been known to even duck tape their baggies instead of just getting a new one.  I will always have baggies on hand now.
9) Your tolerance level for dirt and dirty clothes is much greater than you think.  Every day when we were out biking, we would have layers of dirt, grease, sweat, dead bugs, sun tan lotion, bug spray, sand and who knows what else all over us, and I was OK with it for hours.  We are quite limited on the amount of clothing we could bring on this trip so it was not uncommon for clothes to be worn for days at a time or to be rinsed out in the sink at night.  At home we would never do this but on this trip it was totally acceptable to have clothes hanging all over the hotel grounds to dry.
8) The key to success on this trip is taking care of yourself - both mentally and physically.  We quickly started sharing tips about sore muscles, bum sores, and other issues that arise when you are riding hundreds of miles.  I learned about ice baths, icing my muscles, hot baths, stretching, foam rolling, bag balm, layering bike shorts, recovery drinks (I think chocolate milk was the winner here!) and of course hydration, nutrition and sleep.  I think people start the trip thinking - I don't need to worry about these things and by day 4, it becomes clear - this is much harder than training so you better start taking care of yourself.
7) Does it really matter what day it is??  On this trip, we live in a bubble.  As I've said before it's like groundhog's day but in a good way.  We have no idea what day it is, I never really knew what time it was and you have limited knowledge of what is going on outside of the bubble (if you choose - which I did).  The most important things to us were the weather and the winds - which are truly unpredictable but had the greatest impact on our trip.
6) Living in the moment.  Most of us are planners - what are we doing this weekend, what meetings do we have scheduled for next week, etc.  When we all first arrived in Astoria, we were these people too.  We wanted to know what happens every day, we were worried about rides that were a week away, we wanted to plan for our day off before the trip even started.  I will say, it takes about 7 -9 days to adjust to the regimen of the trip but once we did it made things so simple and worry free.  We think only about today while we are out riding.  At the end of the day, we would have RAP and learn about the schedule and ride for the next day.  We stopped worrying about the climb that was two weeks away, we just started living in the moment - and it is beautiful thing!
5) You will have great days, good days, bad days and horrible days.  There are only three days that I can remember that are on the negative side - My two bad days were the day we rode into Boise, the day we had the 15 mile detour and the horrible day was the 117 mile downpour, brutal wind day.  I would have to say that 3 days out of 45 riding days in this instance is good.  And what I learned is that these 3 days made me truly appreciate every good and great day.  Additionally, these days made me (and us) stronger.  If we could get through 117 miles of downpour and headwinds, then we can do anything!
4) You are stronger than you think.  Before the trip, when I told people my plans, no one came out and said "Are you crazy?" but I know a few people were thinking that.  I did things on this trip that I never thought I could ever do (in addition to the downhills) - century ride after century ride, climbing mountains with 10 and 20 miles climbs, riding 500 miles in a week - there are so many things.  I know that I "pushed every limit" - even limits that I did not know existed before this trip. 
3) What goes up, will definitely come down - and in the case of the roads - it typically goes up again.  From far away, the uphills look steep, however, once you get closer, it's never as steep as your first impression.  The downhills are the reward for working hard to get up the hills and mountains - enjoy them.  Enough said about the downhills.
2) It's OK to need help, it's OK to ask for help and it's OK to accept help.  Boy, did I need lots of help to get through this trip and it came from all different places and I am truly grateful.

1)  I have the BEST friends in the world!!!  I was very fortunate to have many visitors along my journey.  I also had tons of friends who e-mailed, texted, called and commented on the blog.  All of my friends who came to see me, took such great care of me - brought me gluten free foods, took me on errands, took me to great meals, brought a full party up to Portsmouth so the whole group could celebrate at the end (thank you Jillian and Pooja), made amazing T-shirts to commemorate my trip (thank you to the Dudnyk team) cleaned my house so that when I got home it was spotless and went food shopping (thank you Mari), and typically they drove hours to see me for a very brief time.  After each visit, so many of the riders in the group would say to me "you have the best friends."  Many people always ask me - "since you move around a lot don't you lose a lot of friends?" and I always say, "My friends who are my friends will always be there for me."  And I must say, you all came out in full force to support my journey of a lifetime.  I am thankful that all of you were by my side and I am thrilled that I have added a few new friends to my life. 

So while I am still a bit tearful about everything coming to an end, I am looking forward to the next chapter, getting settled into my new home and community, finding a new job, looking for my next challenge, and continuing to make memories with all of my friends and family.

The baggie that I used as my wallet for the trip



Front of the AMAZING t-shirts that the Dudnyk team sent for the group



Back of the AMAZING t-shirts that the Dudnyk team sent

My cat Boomer who is very happy that I am back - can't you tell?

Flowers that were waiting for my when I got home - Excited to finally see sunflowers!!