In my first trip reflection, way back on day 9 (so long ago!), I concluded that any and all of my expectations would inevitably change over the course of this trip. This early observation, I would argue, has been the overarching theme of my journey. The places I've seen, the people I've met, and the experiences I've had have all been different than what I would have expected at the beginning of the TransAm.

I find it particularly entertaining to single out specific events that have happened on this trip. In taking them out of the larger context of biking across the American continent, they become quite humorous, even absurd. They are things I never could have planned for or seen coming; I merely had to accept their reality, however tough, odd, or ridiculous it may have been. Some of these events, you will find, were not mentioned in previous posts. I believe they accurately highlight the strange twists that a trip of this length can take.

So, without further ado, here are some of these experiences:

-Riding around in a penguin suit with people I didn't know in Eugene, Oregon

-Hearing two fellow cyclists shout at one another in Norwegian at 1am, as our tents all collapse in a wind storm at Brownlee Dam, Idaho

-Chugging a beer at the summit of Chief Joseph Pass in Montana

-Trying to translate from Spanish to Italian to English with an Italian in rural Wyoming

-Camping in a park bathroom, and under a dump truck, in Colorado

-Eating a whole bunt cake outside of a closed convenience store in rural Kansas

-Falling asleep next to an air conditioning vent in Ash Grove, Missouri, and waking up frozen

-Taking a quick pee stop alongside the road in Illinois and accidentally peeing on my pannier

-Attending vacation bible school at a Southern Baptist Church in Seebree, Kentucky

-Sweating so much at Mammoth Cave National Park that my glasses fogged up and I had to stop to wipe them clean

These occurrences beg the question: what is to come next? How will I feel in the moment versus in retrospect? I guess there's only one way to find out: keep pedaling.