Thanks for the end of the trip travel portion. It's nice to follow you home and wave goodbye. So to speak.

SO frustrating when TSA or others “go through” your things unnecessarily ! I liken it to being robbed . You are helpless and stunned at the same time. Bravo for you to have a better outlook and outcome with this experience.

Andrew is much leaner than I am - we're the same height and I outweighed him by almost 25 to 30 pounds before we started. I'm probably healthier at this new weight, so trying to maintain it would be a good idea. I think I lost a bit of upper body muscle mass, but definitely some body fat as well.

I thought that I lost weight because I was very lean going in and more lean coming out. Turns out that I weigh the same so all the snacking kept things in check. I think I still gained muscle and lost some fat.

Are you making it a personal goal to gain back the weight you lost?😉

Did Andrew lose any weight?

It's been pretty easy so far. It mostly just feels like picking up where I left off. I'm very fortunate to have a very good life so it's not like the trip was a great escape from a terrible life leaving me dreading a return. I'm happy to get back to the things that were put on hold, and I'm looking forward to some trips, much shorter ones for a while, over the next 12 months.

Yes, we were. Our start date was the result of choosing the earliest date we could leave based on other commitments. From that we worked backwards to look at factors like weather, chance of snow in the passes, what might be closed after Labor Day, etc. There's always a chance of snow any time of year in the highest passes, but the odds do increase significantly as you get into late September and October. We were a little faster than average, so if you're planning to do it over a longer time I would suggest starting earlier. We did run into a USFS campground where the water had been shut off, and places like Skyline Lodge were closing for the season a few days after we passed through. There will be fewer places open, and likely less running water the later in the season, so I wouldn't push it much past our dates. You're also more likely to be affected by wildfires the later you start. On the other hand, we avoided some of the worst of the summer heat and some of the places that were still open weren't as busy as they might have been.

How has reentry into real life been?

I enjoyed reading along with you. My evenings aren't quite the same without checking on how you and Andrew were doing. I liked reading two perspectives of the same day.

Thank you Peter for the great journal. I enjoyed following your adventures. I am looking to ride the GDMBR next year and trying to decide how late in the summer I want to leave. Were you happy with when you left?

Thanks George. I can certainly see how the adjustment process could be difficult for most, and different for everybody. I feel like we’re in good shape to adjust without too much of a low, but time will tell.

We assumed that they did, so might as well give them the show anyway. It’s such and arbitrary location driven only by trying to be as close to an obscure (to many) geographical feature.

Congratulations on completing a very difficult and challenging tour! Lots of folks that start this route do not complete it, so it really is a worthy accomplishment. I know from my own experiences that you will likely experience a real low, maybe even some actual depression, over the next few weeks as you settle back into "real life." But from that point you can commence planning the next tour - best of luck,

Great tour.

Thanks for all the posts. Enjoyed it!

I wonder if the folks working the border crossing chuckle when they see cyclists do this...

Cane cholla

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylindropuntia_imbricata