After a day with friends in Milwaukee, I arrived back in Denver (via Amtrak) on Thursday morning. Tired, but glad to be done.

Here are some final observations about this ride:

1. I took too much stuff again. I think I did better last year with this - and didn't have to send anything home. It may be partly because my trip started with a week of not-cycling and needing more street clothes. But also...
2. I didn't use the drone. I intended to - but the first opportunities came with some rain. And further chances to use it might have taken more time than I wanted to spend. So I sent it home from Pittsburgh. I do admire the travel bloggers who shoot lots of video - but it's very time-consuming, both to make and then to edit. I think it's easier if you're cycling with someone, but I'm going to have to re-evaluate whether I really want to do more video content.
3. The smoke was a bit of a factor in the first few days, but I'm grateful it moved on. Although I could see it in the air, I wasn't feeling affected vis-a-vis my lungs. I did speak with people who were. It's back now in Chicago & Milwaukee, so my timing was lucky.
4. I got bored with the same scenery more quickly than I thought I would. Cycling on the C&O & GAP trails was pretty, but (especially on the GAP) it was mile after mile of just woods. Nice for a day, but multiple days it got a bit old, and I found myself wanting more to look at. Conversely once out in Ohio & Indiana farm country, that got old as well. 
5. The C&O needs some trail work. With the recent rains, two of my days were extremely muddy and wet - less water coming from the sky and more just splashing up onto me and the bike. Muddy puddles were impossible to tell if they were an inch deep or 5 inches deep, and there were some gotcha holes that were deeper than I thought. After a couple days of that, my front wheel needed trueing. I hadn't really expected that - most reviews of the trail didn't mention the conditions being that bad (some locals told me this was as bad as they had seen it.) Parts were newly resurfaced and those were great - but there are some sections that really need that done.
6. America's network of regional trails & routes is growing fast. The largest is the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). There were way more trails than I had realized, and some are really pleasant. That said, what passes for trails in some communities is little more than designated sidewalks. I used RideWithGPS to route, and it generally did a decent job - trying to put me on designated cycle paths and routes - although it hadn't been updated to include the four washed out bridges I encountered, which I believe happened in 2018.
7. I didn't have any really unsafe encounters with motorists, unlike previous rides. A few cars passed a bit closer than I liked (especially when nobody was on the other side, so why not move over more?) but I don't think anyone was closer than the 3 feet most states require. On busier roads I had 3 flashing lights going in the rear as well as a safety triangle, so it would be hard NOT to notice me.

Final Numbers:

• Riding (non-rest) Days: 16
• Total Miles: 1025
• Bicycle Mechanical Issues: 2
• Flat Tires: 0 (Schwalbe Marathons FTW!)
• Mosquito Bites: 2 (One was right where my riding shorts end above my knee, so it kept itching and didn't go away until I got home!)

This is the third year I've taken a solo tour. I did the middle section of the country (Denver to Milwaukee) in 2021, and now the eastern part this year. That leaves the western third - the one with more hills. If I decide to tackle that sometime I will definitely need to train more than I have.

Thanks to everyone who followed along!