Chapter 8 – Conclusion


Sometimes (well, many times..) we cursed the route, whoever draw it, us and the bikes, but, was is worth it? YESSSSS We have lived a dream and will never regret anything about it. 

Considering the amount of miles we covered, we considered ourselves very lucky – never got sick, no injuries, no mechanical problems, no guns pointed at us, we are still talking to each other, all went so smooth that we can't hardly believe it.


As for the equipment, everything we brought, altought heavily used and abused, survived very well (apart from my socks which got burnt at the end) and we are pleased with everything we took. The only exceptions are:

• Bear bag – useless as most campsites have bear proof locks for the food;
  
• Wood stove – it got replaced with a gas stove in Helena. It took too long to cook with it and it was too dirty.

For the record


Favourite State:
Colorado


Weirdest event:
Watching Birds by Hitchcock one night in some motel, and a week or so later, early in the morning, opening the door of the motel in Steamboat Springs seeing 50 + crows lined on the roof and trees (it turned out the owner fed them every morning over 25 years...) cra cra...mmmhhh


Sentence never to say again:
“what else can go wrong?” (after 1/2h we realised we were lost)


Most used word:
Dammit!


Most useless question:
“is it flat?”


Most creative camp meal:
Alfredo pasta with potato powder and peas – we called it “the concrete”

Average of calories per day:
6,000 (not counting ice cream)


List of spotted wildlife (in chronological order):
Mule deer – Big horn sheep – Black bear – White tail deer – Fox – Hummingbirds – Golden eagle – Woodpecker – Red squirrel – Chipmunk – Ground squirrel – Mountain goat – Western bluebird – Marmot – Pelican – Pronghorn – Skunk – Prairie dog – Elks – Heron – Bison – Osprey – Snowshoe rabbit – Moose – Pika – Stellar Jay – Raccoon (only dead :( )- Rattlesnake – Coyote – Sea lions – Whale – Sea Otter – Elephant seal – Bats.


And here are the final stats (not sure how accurate they are as the Garmin sometimes run out of battery and sometimes it was not switch on at all...)