On Final Post

Just a few thoughts as a final post.

First, thanks to my wife Caroline for her support, understanding, and encouragement. I know I got tired and grumpy (ier) while I was racking up lots of miles getting ready for this. She understood and kept encouraging me to make sure I was ready.

And a thanks to Lukas for riding with me. When I saw the announcement, I sent it to him asking if he wanted to to ride it with me. I actually didn't think he would say yes. When he did, I uttered an "Oh bleep" because I could hardly back out at that point. Lukas was a great riding partner and camping partner. We figured out after a couple of days how to set up camp and break camp down. Our riding styles are similar and neither of us like to stop for long periods of time at rest stops. He was happy being my wind break for long stretches of road and was gentle on me on the long climbs. I couldn't have asked for a better riding partner, and given he is related, that made it even better.

People ask me if I will do it again. I would certainly consider it, and given the right set of people would say yes quickly. While it took a lot of time to train to be ready to ride, and it was stressful during the ride it was great fun and left me with a huge sense of accomplishment. So, any takers for RtR in 2011?

Thanks for reading.