A couple weeks ago, I wrote something like "it would be cool if the 1,000th journal came from somebody posting his/her first Cycleblaze journal."  At the time, I never envisioned #1,000 coming from the founder.  Now I agree that "On the Other Side" is most deserving of the honor.

I met Jeff while touring in Iowa once.  How he ended up living in my boyhood home state is a long story.  Why he left, I can't even imagine.  (Just kidding.)  I can't claim to know Jeff as well as you do but, based on the 60-90 minutes we spent over breakfast in a tiny Iowa town, I wish I did.

I never thought the 1,000th journal would be Jeff's either.  But what a nice surprise!

I'm glad you met Jeff and who knows, there might be chances in the future to be with him again.  I will say it again, there is no finer person, not that I've ever found. And to think that he isn't even from the Midwest!  How can that possibly be!!?  But.... Kristen is from Iowa.  So there is that.

Thank you, Keith.  If I could I'd give you a Thumbs Up emoji for being such a great contributor.  

Thanks Grampies! My admiration for your cycle-touring accomplishments grows with each passing year. I'm thankful that you're willing to share all of the adventures -- and misadventures -- with the rest of us.

Thanks for the kind words, Keith!

I've accepted a lot of car rides over the years, some from people I really shouldn't have. But I might have been the least worried about you and Andrea when you rolled up in a tiny Honda Civic wagon with Obama and NPR stickers all over the back hatch. If I had any hesitation, you pushed it away with your offering of a tall red can of Pringles.

Thanks Greg! And to those who are curious, I did not pay Greg any money for this ringing endorsement.

The journal was kind of a surprise to me as well. I'd been on the fence about taking a trip for a few months, but then I saw the journal count was at 999, and decided that was the last bit of encouragement I needed.

Evidently there were at least three people who were holding off on publishing until after someone "more deserving" claimed the prestigious #1,000, since we're already up to 1,003.

Hard to think of anyone more deserving than you.

I still love the way you write, too.

Being an inveterately curious person, now I'm wondering what numbers, in the sequence, our journals were.