Ha! Hilarious!

Kelly - I looked at the Bella Coola route - that's an interesting thought. RWGPS says it has 9% unpaved roads, so I'd probably go with a slightly larger tire than my usuals (I usually ride 38mm tires, I'd go with 42mm if I was expecting a lot of gravel). One could combine it with the Chicago to New York City and Eastern Connector routes for a truly epic tour. Wow, so many possibilities - thanks for pointing out this one.

Thank you for the mention of our border to border route. When asked independently about our favorite tour ever, Jacinto and I both answer without hesitation that it was our border to border trip. The part that made it the best tour, for me, was the changes in geography - you get red rocks and dirt, Monument Valley (!), grasslands, high desert, alpine, pine forests, etc. The geology never dulls. Lodging was mostly easy to arrange.

We rode the Sierra Cascades route for Jacinto's 50th birthday - all motels. We only made it as far as Reno, because I absolutely couldn't book us through Yosemite - I was too late. It was an enjoyable route. I trained really hard and was happy with my performance - you are correct. It's much more difficult than our border to border.

I've also ridden the Lewis and Clark from Great Falls, MT to Astoria. That was with ACA, one month long, and my first big tour. It's the one that gave me confidence to ride long tours.

I am biased, admittedly, to my most excellent border to border route - I think it stands out for the variety of terrain, and the fact that it can be motel-ed. There's also the swagger factor of going border to border.

I have another idea to toss out at you - it's a trip that's been on my back burner for years - but this fall I did look at lodging, and I'm pretty sure it can be done as a motel trip. Let's see if this one appeals to you - Take the ferry through the Inner Passage from Vancouver to Bella Coola, BC - then ride back to the states. If you look at my name on RWGPS, and put in Bella Coola - the route should come up. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40765402

There is a monster climb coming out of Bella Coola that has an interesting story behind it, if you google. It has been pointed out to me that perhaps the sane cyclist would ride INTO Bella Coola rather than out, the ride would be much friendlier. I can see the value in that. Most of what is stopping this route from becoming a reality is rain - it rains a lot in Canada. We've gotten spoiled the past few years while touring and haven't been rained on to speak of.

I think having a fun, positive daydream is a good thing. It's much better than worrying about potential health problems. Stewing over them won't help. I'm a great worry wart. I should be taking my own advice! Seriously - here's wishing for the best possible outcome.

I enjoyed the ride! Thanks for sharing your journey.

Thank you for taking the time to write these past two pages. You are excetat the post tour synopsis. That is very helpful for upcoming riders doing their research.

Greg - I think it's fair to say that I've included a somewhat eclectic mix of videos in this journal. Maybe a couple more to come yet as I finish the epilogue.

Maybe there's something wrong with me because I liked the video. Hilarious, arty, bizarre, twisted. It even got me to look up some other Puscifer videos. Freaky stuff.

That was epic!! I really enjoyed following along!

Way to go, Bud!!! Congratulations❤️

Congratulations on completing a truly unique route. There were many opportunities for things to go wrong, but determination, good planning, and flexibility prevailed.
I enjoy tour journals through geographic and cultural regions that cyclists mostly avoid. I saw many familiar places that I have seen on past tours. And I enjoyed all the historical context you provided. This journal will be a great resource for people contemplating future tours of the Great Rivers South route.
During my 2014 Pittsburgh to Fort Worth bike tour I saw only one other touring cyclist after leaving the Great Allegheny Passage trail, in Golconda, Illinois. He was riding the entire Great Rivers South route as a small part of an epic tour from Seattle to Key West.

Thanks for posting another great adventure. I've enjoyed following along, and will look forward to reading that final epilogue.

I would say congrats old man but old men don't ride a bicycle across the country. A good friend told me that one time and I use that line when I go backpacking in the Ouachitas. Let us stay young bro, at least in our minds.

Greg - there was a building dedicated to Joseph Smith, but it wasn't open unless you went on some sort of tour that started at a store in town. I didn't go into the village, but saw 1 lady wearing an 1800's period dress in it - I just didn't have the time to explore it. There's a really interesting book I read that you might enjoy if you want to examine history a bit; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Banner_of_Heaven It gives you a lot of background on Joseph Smith and the Mormon religion.

Thanks Kelly! You warned me that this route was tough in several ways, and you were right. Sometime in the next few days I'm going to post some suggestions for others that I think would make it a better experience.

Mark - I have my photos in the "cloud" using Onedrive. They are sorted by year, and then by topic under that year, so If I can remember the year or guess close to it I can usually find the photo. I spent a considerable chunk of money having my old photos and slides digitized - I had something like 20,000 or so photos/slides to scan - I used a group called Scancafe to get that done. I originally did scanning myself, but got much better results with these guys since they use much more expensive equipment. When I was deployed to Germany in 2019 I spent at least 1 hour each night sorting and adding keywords to my photos. And I'm only up to 1991 so I have a long way to go - but my photo collection actually starts in 1850 with photos I have from both sides of the family.