Well, not so much to say about today. We loaded up the car in Carmel and headed for home. 6 hours on the 101 freeway headed south. Basically kind of dull.

It did give me a little time to reflect however. This ride is over now, it was a big effort to plan and coordinate. Did I get what I wanted out of it? Did I get anything out of it at all?

Hard to say, definitively. I gained about 6 pounds on the trip – how is that possible with all the riding I did? Two words – ice cream. Also waffles, and pancakes. Bacon. Peanut Butter. Chocolate Chip Cookies. Oh yeah – all that wine. So I definitely did not reach my goal weight – that part didn’t work out as planned.

Actually – a lot of the ride did not work out as planned. Two days of rain in Solvang weren’t in the plan. Breaking a wheel in Carmel certainly never entered my thinking. I knew the plan would need to adopt to the reality of the ride – and that was true enough.

It was a lot of fun. I loved the scenery and the challenge of riding in Big Sur. I was exhilarated by the ride through Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley. I fell in love with Cambria, and I was in awe of the country around Mendocino. The riding itself was surely better than I expected it to be. It challenged me in some unexpected ways. Sure, it was physically difficult to do the ride, but being by myself for two and a half days in Big Sur, with no cell phone service, was mentally difficult in ways that I had not anticipated.

Camping turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I was really worried that I would be cold and uncomfortable, but it turned out completely different. The sleeping pad worked incredibly well, and I was warm and comfortable every night. I’ll definitely camp again on another trip. I may invest in a slightly larger tent – mine was big enough, but pretty cramped after I loaded my bags in at night.

Riding with Nancy is absolutely the best part. It was so great to watch her riding through the vineyards, or along the coast, or into the redwoods.. The smile on her face is something I will remember long after most of the rest of the trip has faded away. I already knew that riding with Nancy was great – but this trip has reinforced that many times over. And I don’t need to do a long trip to experience that joy over and over again.

I loved meeting the people. So many people helped me out in small, or big, ways along the journey. “Self-contained” is a misnomer when it comes to bicycle touring. There is no way to have even one successful day without the help and support of many people met on the ride. The people who give directions , or answer questions, or offer their story at a rest stop. The people who work in the campgrounds or restaurants that let me pilfer electricity. The couple that filled my water bottle when I had run out. The couple riding to Vancouver who told jokes for an hour in Carmel while I was wondering what to do about my broken wheel. I met a lot of wonderful folks, and I didn’t meet a single person that I wished I hadn’t.

The people who read the journal, and sent me helpful or uplifting notes in the guestbook, were a great surprise. I never believed that I would have so many people reading this journal! Thank you all for coming along with me on this trip. I hope you all got as much from me and my writing as I got from knowing you were out there reading.

There were some disappointing moments. Mostly, I didn’t get to go as far or as long as I hoped. Having to stop for the rain after Solvang and missing Morro Bay were unfortunate.  I am really sorry I missed Half Moon Bay – I’ve always wanted to go there and I’ve never been able to.  The broken wheel in Carmel was soul crushing. I had looked forward so much to the next couple of days up the coast.

California is magnificent, but I’ll continue to wonder what the Washington and Oregon Coasts might be like, and what lies around that next bend in the road past Mendocino. This trip gave me just a small taste of a greater adventure that I know I’ll get to someday. But not today. For now, this ride is finished. We arrive home and it’s good here.  Home is comfortable and familiar and soothing. It’s time to put this adventure behind me, and begin to concentrate on some other parts of my life. Go back to my diet, get a job, worry about life’s ordinary pressures and concerns. The next adventure is still out there. I hope you will all read along with me when it’s time arrives….