The trip in numbers

Hi everyone,

 

I am home, safe and sound.  It's been one week since I last rode the bike, and I think my body's reacting by dropping its deffenses.  I'm harboring a cold and some fever, but those will go away soon.  With the trip over, I now face the challenge of readjusting a bit to life in Boston, and how my immediate future will shape up, specifically getting a job and organizing my living situation.  In the meantime, my brother's house in Wellesley is a great interim, especially now that I'm almost (finally!) done remodeling the basement.  It will be a bit of my own space to settle into.

 

With the benefit of hindsight, there are many, many things that I could say about the trip, but I doubt any one paragraph description would do justice.  To those of you who have been keeping up with the blog, I hope it's been a way to not only follow along, but also to come along and enjoy, albeit from a distance, the adventures I have found and the things I have seen.  Given that pictures really are worth a thousand words, at least, I think the photos I have posted do a good job.  It's reassuring to know that when I tell a story or describe a situation, in many cases there is an image to latch onto for friends and family to enjoy.

 

Perhaps the single biggest thing that I take away from the trip is the knowledge that there is adventure out there waiting to be had, and that it's important to embrace that adventure every now and then, to go into the unknown and remind yourself that we can survive outside of our comfort zones.  Doing so gives you a fresh perspective both on the adventure, but also on the life and routine we keep at home.  It's a bit cliche to point to famous quotes, but the words of T.S. Eliot's "The Little Gidding" ring true:

 

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

 

With that said, I feel like I can sign off the blog, which I don't intend to keep now that I'm home, thank everyone for tuning in, and leave you with some numbers.

 

Days spent traveling: 70

Days spent biking: 34

Money spent: $2261 (average of $32.31 daily, which is less than 30 euros, which was my budget!!) + $1075 airfare = $3336

Spanish communities visited: 12 of 17

Distance traveled: 2503 miles

Time on the saddle: 7 days, 13 hours, 35 minutes, 25 seconds

Average distance per day: 73.6 miles

Average speed: About 13 mph

Mechanical incidents: 4 (2 flat tires, 2 broken spokes, all on the rear wheel)

Weight change: -2 lbs.  I think I traded some fat for muscle mass in my legs.

Photos taken: 1255