I've left this section until there's been chance to process the experience of spending seven weeks cycling 3400 miles across a continent. Conversations with Julie and friends have helped that, as has the chat on our WhatsApp and various Facebook pages.  It's now a week since we finished the ride on Revere Beach and five days after arriving in the UK.

I can only resort to clichés to say how much I enjoyed this trip and found it rewarding.  It was the experience of a lifetime and I tingle when I look back at it.  

It was a respectable challenge; less physically so than anticipated, but much more psychologically demanding.  Few of us had properly imagined the low-grade, unremitting strain of riding up to 100 miles everyday for a month and a half.  Our timetable of 5am alarm, wander around a breakfast buffet at six, pack, get everything down to the hotel lobby, ride the bike for six hours, managing nutrition, hydration and loo stops, laundry, rinsing and drying clothes before deciding which configuration of ultra-processed foods to eat took its toll. Whilst none of us approached breaking point, we all experienced lows.  The group was so positive and supportive though that we all looked after each other and bucked each other up.

My personal lows occurred with the bike cracking in Emporia. The stress of that and of replacing it affected me quite a lot.  That was followed by some hot weather, with accompanying humidity for which nothing could have prepared me. Cumulatively, these things reduced my appetite. I bonked at least once and struggled for energy over several days (Strava data confirm this). This was overcome by the support of others. Stephanie, Barbara and Mark gave me encouragement, electrolytes and a tow to a Dairy Queen. The Americans (looking at Mark S, Ron, Lee, Chad and Spencer) introduced me to the 'nutritional' and mood-altering benefits of post-ride ice-cream trips, which are among the things I most miss now I'm off the bike.  Late ride lunches (some of them quite liquid) with many of the above, along with Doug and Christine, were also psychologically and calorifically therapeutic. In any event, I was restored.

Few of us plan to visit Missouri again. The straight roads affording views of the next five hills ahead immediately dented enthusiasm. The rolling  lumps were too steep to be aided by momentum and prevented us from getting into a rhythm.  If that wasn't enough, the humidity was draining and marred our appetites so energy was a real problem.

The equal and opposite to all this was the reward. In a discussion about whether I'd enjoyed the trip, my son said I made it sound as though I'd disliked it for being boring.  Not boring; hard!  I'd set myself a big challenge and so felt enormously rewarded to finish without too much of a struggle.  I had thought during the ride about the distinctions between feeling pleased about meeting a challenge and effort-justification bias but failed to reach the answer. Not regarding myself as a sporty person, never trusting my body for anything, I am mighty chuffed for completing this tour, and as Todd pointed out, quite comfortably. Knowing that I am capable of this is making me reappraise my relationship with my body.

Highlights?  The people!  We were very lucky that the 23 of us thrown together could get on so well during such a long, intense and  demanding adventure.  It was more than that though.  There was a wide variety of people with rich experiences, interests and perspectives, ranging from problems with kids, to religious epiphanies to comic collections. The team was fascinating, kind, warming and great fun. We hope to welcome you to our part of the world in coming years.

Another plus was the opportunity to introduce our American friends to important British words such as 'pootling' and the chance to show them that bacon should only be eaten with a fork.  I think we all enjoyed the differences between our cultures.

Oh yes, the cycling was a bit of a high point too.  I liked the desert. The green hills and white houses of Vermont were beautiful. All that said, the two most stunning rides were days seven and eight. The first involved the climb up Mingus Mountain and best of all, the descent through Jerome and the Verde Valley towards the desert and Cottonwood.  I had to stop several times for an emotional response to the overwhelming views.  The next day took us through Sedona and the Oak Creek Valley, with another proper climb to the look out point.  I now understood why Barbara had told me she was looking forward to Sedona. As the entry for that day says, the photographs are stunning but give no idea of the scale of the mountains.

One thing that could be forgotten but that demands consideration is the value of arriving at the start of the tour well-prepared. Already running at a good level of fitness for my age, I was very lucky to have the time to build up my training ahead of time.  Julie and I got away with friends for a month of cycling in Portugal and Spain in January/February, then I trained consistently for the rest of the spring, completing almost 4000 miles by the beginning of May.  Not everybody would have the time for that and many of those who completed the tour managed perfectly well with much less. However, I am more confident if I am well-prepared and did not want to worry that I might struggle just because I'd spent too much time on the sofa.  I'll probably skip the rides at -4C next year though.

Some thoughts to people considering a tour like this

This section is directed towards those of you who are thinking about a similar tour but might be of interest to others.

Would I recommend it?  Without a second thought: Yes!  The challenge and commensurate reward constitute some of the most intense experiences of my life and have changed me.  We made friends and shared times together in quite a profound way.

Whilst it was not easy, I completed the tour as a fit but fairly weedy cyclist. Anybody in reasonably good health could do the same.  Some of the others brought health problems with them, yet I believe they managed their expectations and found the trip equally rewarding.  In this regard there was a slight difference between the Brits and some of the Americans.  The extra cost and logistic difficulties meant that we (Brits) came thinking first and foremost about the cycling.  For some of the Americans there was, perfectly reasonably, a more patriotic and almost pilgrimage-like element to crossing their own country over land. For some of them the cycling was a more secondary means to an end and they had not had the opportunity or inclination to train as much.  Despite that, everybody completed the crossing and I think we all got the sense of satisfaction that we hoped for. If possible, you should do it.

It's much harder to make recommendations about a route or a tour company.  Everybody varies in their personal needs and wants so my own preference may differ from  yours.  However, what follows may be things to think about when you choose your tour.

I can say that our crew tried very hard to make our experience a good one. They were never less than super-helpful.  If anybody had a flat then Dana, Gary, Greg and/or Fred were there, as if by magic to help them. Peyton was a rock when my bike broke. I am glad I introduced him to the culinary triumph that is beans on toast.   Tom and Alena moved our kit seamlessly from hotel to hotel and provided noisy encouragement from the roadside or moving trucks all across America.  Paula runs a tight ship so that everything is carefully planned and little is left to chance.

People considering a ride like this should realise that tour operators make strategic choices about the highlights they'd like to visit along the way, the routes to be taken between those highlights, the nature of the accommodation and the food, the type of food provided during the day, the level of support they provide, their level of flexibility and the cost. That means that the operators select a balance between all these things.  Riders have their own preferences for these things. The trick therefore is to match the operators to your own preferences. I had some thoughts that might help you make your choice.

The geographic highlights of this trip were the stuff of movies that I will remember for the rest of my life. Yet there are other stunning sights in the US. In addition, whilst there have to be duller days between the highlights, the nature of those days also forms part of the experience. Think about the sights you want to see and how much duller riding you're prepared to tolerate to see them.

Although it has the Rockies and Appalachians and so on, most of the US is relatively flat. I did not use my small chain ring for two or three weeks at one point. If you like climbing (and lets face it, hills mean its prettier), you might want to choose a route through more lumpy areas.  Beware though! If its humid you might want to avoid the constant up and down of Missouri.

Our route involved a good deal of riding on the shoulder of Interstate highways (about 12 consecutive hours over three days at one point). This is the equivalent of motorways in the UK.  It was not relaxed riding, it was noisy, you could not ride side by side and the debris caused hundreds of punctures.  Many riders would hate this and I would advise that you ask operators how many miles will be on Interstates.

The choice on this tour was to stay in business class hotels (Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn etc), which were often a few miles out of town.  I can see the value of this as the rooms were comfortable and well-equipped.  One downside though was that the only accessible places for evening meals were chain restaurants. These are the kind of places that serve cook-chill food that might all be made in the same factory, only to be packaged with different colour labels.  You can tell by the shape of the clientele that these meals are not healthy and few of us would eat like that every day for seven weeks.  The food was bland and unappealing at a time when you really needed to eat.  Some of the hotels could have been nearer to towns where there was a wider choice of places to eat, including independent restaurants cooking from scratch.  There were times when I'd have happily swapped two queen-sized beds with hospital corners for tastier evening meals.  Las Vegas (NM) showed the potential of this and Grants was a place in point, where we found a fantastic place to eat, but had to make do with a very low cost burger bar in the evening.  It can't be easy to find comfortable hotels for 25 people, but being in a town-centre once or twice a week could break the monotony of mediocre meals.

The next point to consider is the food provided during the day.  Energy intake is important on a 100 mile ride and potentially problematic if there are no places to buy food during the day (which happened on some days).  In addition, the food needs to be varied and interesting.  There is a limit to how many days you can tolerate energy bars and gels.  Most of us can manage for a day or two but will struggle beyond that.  Before you choose a tour find out what the operators provide during the day and how much that varies.

The level of support given is inversely related to the flexibility of the operator.  For instance, if you go off route you can hardly expect the crew to be there for you immediately when you have a mechanical problem. Most experienced cyclists will be used to riding long miles unsupported and will be unfazed by riding on their own.  Others will prefer the safety net of a crew close at hand. We were able to go off-route if we informed the crew, but there was sometimes a price for even the most minor deviation, such as stopping for lunch.  There were occasions when tiny changes like this made no real difference to anybody, so a little more flexibility would have suited me.   This could have been supported at zero cost by better use of technology, for instance using the tracking function in WhatsApp and choosing that as the default communication platform during the tour.   Ask your operators about how they strike the balance on flexibility vs. support and they use IT in this equation.

As mentioned, many of the choices above have cost implications. Riders may look briefly at the prices of competing tour operators and shortlist on this criterion alone.  Remember that this has consequences that may seriously affect your enjoyment of your holiday.

None of the above is intended as a complaint.  Our crew worked really hard to ensure we had a good time and we were all very grateful to them.  Nobody can please all the people all the time, so I hope these insights will help future readers choose the tour that best suits them.

Conclusion

I rejoice that I took on this trip. It has changed my image of myself and has changed my life. I met fabulous people, saw wonderful things and was supported by a kind and conscientious crew. Anybody who can should consider something like it.