This tour was wonderful for my self confidence. I have bicycled many, many thousands of miles and was quite puzzled about my insecurities concerning this trip. I decided the part that bothered me most was following someone else's schedule. Also the duration was much longer than anything I had done before. I had gained significant weight and even though I had lost 38 pounds, I still had another 50 pounds to go. I was concerned about getting my body and all of my gear over the passes.

As the days passed I became more and more confident. I was doing great and feeling great. My legs were always fresh. I had trained well for the ride. I quit looking at the map with concern every evening, worrying about the next day's ride. I knew I could do what it took to get to the next town and be ready to go the following day.

I did not mail any extra items home, other than the rain gear I replaced. I had packed so minimally that there was nothing to send home. Ladies, I did learn you really do need more than one pair of panties.

The only mechanical issues I had was the rear tire blowout. We had many, many flat tires, especially through Montana. Peggy added the flat tires up for the eight people that finished our trip. The total was 34. Ryan was the clear winner with 14. Our group as a whole did not have other serious mechanical issues, thank goodness. Peggy had a computer that was troublesome. Carlton lost both cleat bolts to one shoe, which could have been a problem, but Jerry had a spare.

I had my bike tuned up before the trip. Fairly routine except we found cracks in the rim at the nipples. I ended up swapping my nice Phil Wood hubbed wheel out for an LX hubbed wheel I borrowed off of a different bike.

I had not weighed my bag before leaving. I could tell it was far more than the planned 20 pounds. At the airport on the return trip home when my luggage was weighed in, I asked how much it weighed. 41 pounds. Almost exactly as much weight as I had taken off of my body before the trip!

As a side note. I weighed when I got home. I had gained three pounds on the trip and lost two dress sizes. I had never felt better about my body and it's capabilities.

This trip lasted long enough that I could enjoy each day and not count down the days remaining. I really got in the grove of bicycle traveling.In the beginning I wasn't so excited about camping every night. In the end I loved the self suffiency of having everything I needed right there at my fingertips and being able to stop anywhere on the road and set up camp. With a motel there isn't the hang out around the picnic table camaradrie that makes the evenings so fun during group travel.

I would take another Adventure Cycling Expedition again. We had a MARVELOUS group. Everyone got along well and we had interesting conversations over dinner.That isn't to say there weren't occasional conflicts. Ours were over the cooking rotation and snoring. When traveling in a group, everyone starts out on their best behavior.Then we all became family and people became vocal about annoying little habits. Overall we had hardly any issues.

Most days I traveled alone, due do my early morning riding preferences. It was a diversion for me to watch the rear view mirror to see who would be first to catch up with most. Most days it was Ryan, in a hurry to find our campsite and get things ready for the group. Sometimes it was Oregon John (early in the trip), Smoker John, or Carlton. There were a few days that I got all the way to camp without seeing anyone in our group.

I have wanted to take an extended cycling vacation for years. My dream was finally realized. This was a trip to remember.