How about a final checkup after 92 days and 5400+ miles?
MIND
The last week or so was really great with the camping and generally easy pace. I was able to take things a little slower and enjoy the camping and riding for themselves and not as a means to an end. I'm more excited than ever to bike tour again after finding it to be a supremely enjoyable way to take in a new area. You may have been to or through and area in a car, but you haven't experienced that area until you sweat in the heat of an area, bask in the cool winds, hear the sounds of local birds, people, bustle or lack thereof, and smelled the thick sweetness that can only be acres of corn borne on the wind. I'm ever grateful for the experience and it's taught me a lot about how to take in a new environment or city.
BODY
I've been very comfortable on the bike and haven't had any recent issues other than a sore wrist from my last fall in Toronto. Some noticeable changes is my body over the whole trip are certainly my longer hair and what has unfortunately occurred on my face. I'm glad I didn't try to grow a beard while working because this thing is pretty bad, but it has been pretty hilarious to watch it grow. I have sharp tan lines on my ankles and the backs of my calves are probably more tan than anything else. I've also been riding shirtless a little, and my jerseys advertise an equivalent of SPF 50 so some light gets through, resulting in a fairly tan back. The tan lines on my arms and legs are certainly there but aren't distinct lines and all my arm and leg hair is blond.
Physiologically one of the biggest changes has been the growth of veins in my legs. I now have pretty sizable veins to carry more blood to my muscles, especially my calves. My arms and chest have shrunk since the beginning but have been at a steady state since about MT.
BIKE
The bike has certainly see the wear of 5400+ miles. The "new" wheel on the back has performed great since Ann Arbor and these fantastic tires held strong to the end, not having had a flat since Detroit. They have some micro cracks so I'll replace them when I get back but they have been pretty damn good over the whole run. The front rack is a POS and I arrived with it held together with plumbing pipe, zip ties, and a sock. Ever since the bike shop in Dexter, MI when the guy adjusted my rear derailler I haven't been able to keep the 11 (the smallest cog) from skipping so I haven't been using it. After tightening the cleat on my left shoe I haven't had anymore trouble uncoupling and both shoes and pedals have worked splendidly over the trip. The bottom bracket still clicks nut thankfully it was able to hold out until the end.
GEAR
After 92 days of use some of the gear has taken a beating but all has mostly survived very well. My sleeping pad has been completely flat upon waking for over half the trip now but it's helped me adapt to sleeping on harder surfaces which will aid my future backpacking. Its stuff sack is a sad scrap of fabric now and I can pull the pad out of the hole in the bottom. My cookset fared pretty well except the plastic lid which I slightly melted and warped on the gas grill in Iowa and then again melted while cooking in Ontario.
My phone's hard case cracked a couple weeks ago but it still fits and has protected the phone very well.
My camera has been amazing but did suffer a small chip out of the plastic corner, hopefully it's still waterproof.
The panniers and handlebar bag have been bombproof and will last me many more trips.
Both of my cycling shorts are starting to fray on the edges of the pad, one has a loose loop of thread that I'm amazed has lasted this long without tearing the whole pad apart so they won't be used for much longer.
Of the three pairs of socks I've been using only the pair I don't ride with has survived, the other two have lost all elasticity and are in a landfill somewhere on the East Coast.
I had to do some filing on the tent poles when they started to gall but other than that and the elastic replacement in WA the tent has been dependable and comfortable.
The sleeping bag has been great but the waterproof stuffsack has seen some wear. I've had the waterproof membrane facing out the front of the bike because it's bright orange but that probably wasn't the best idea since now the sun has degraded the fabric and that area of the sleeping bag has been damp after the past couple downpours.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Upstate NY was beautiful and had wide shoulders on the roads but there was quite a bit of debris. I rode past thousands of small pieces of broken glass and was surprised to make it through the state without a flat. There were also more bugs here than anywhere else, especially small spider that like to get into everything.
VT and MA were the most beautiful since the West and had a lot of little state forests and parks.
MIND
The last week or so was really great with the camping and generally easy pace. I was able to take things a little slower and enjoy the camping and riding for themselves and not as a means to an end. I'm more excited than ever to bike tour again after finding it to be a supremely enjoyable way to take in a new area. You may have been to or through and area in a car, but you haven't experienced that area until you sweat in the heat of an area, bask in the cool winds, hear the sounds of local birds, people, bustle or lack thereof, and smelled the thick sweetness that can only be acres of corn borne on the wind. I'm ever grateful for the experience and it's taught me a lot about how to take in a new environment or city.
BODY
I've been very comfortable on the bike and haven't had any recent issues other than a sore wrist from my last fall in Toronto. Some noticeable changes is my body over the whole trip are certainly my longer hair and what has unfortunately occurred on my face. I'm glad I didn't try to grow a beard while working because this thing is pretty bad, but it has been pretty hilarious to watch it grow. I have sharp tan lines on my ankles and the backs of my calves are probably more tan than anything else. I've also been riding shirtless a little, and my jerseys advertise an equivalent of SPF 50 so some light gets through, resulting in a fairly tan back. The tan lines on my arms and legs are certainly there but aren't distinct lines and all my arm and leg hair is blond.
Physiologically one of the biggest changes has been the growth of veins in my legs. I now have pretty sizable veins to carry more blood to my muscles, especially my calves. My arms and chest have shrunk since the beginning but have been at a steady state since about MT.
BIKE
The bike has certainly see the wear of 5400+ miles. The "new" wheel on the back has performed great since Ann Arbor and these fantastic tires held strong to the end, not having had a flat since Detroit. They have some micro cracks so I'll replace them when I get back but they have been pretty damn good over the whole run. The front rack is a POS and I arrived with it held together with plumbing pipe, zip ties, and a sock. Ever since the bike shop in Dexter, MI when the guy adjusted my rear derailler I haven't been able to keep the 11 (the smallest cog) from skipping so I haven't been using it. After tightening the cleat on my left shoe I haven't had anymore trouble uncoupling and both shoes and pedals have worked splendidly over the trip. The bottom bracket still clicks nut thankfully it was able to hold out until the end.
GEAR
After 92 days of use some of the gear has taken a beating but all has mostly survived very well. My sleeping pad has been completely flat upon waking for over half the trip now but it's helped me adapt to sleeping on harder surfaces which will aid my future backpacking. Its stuff sack is a sad scrap of fabric now and I can pull the pad out of the hole in the bottom. My cookset fared pretty well except the plastic lid which I slightly melted and warped on the gas grill in Iowa and then again melted while cooking in Ontario.
My phone's hard case cracked a couple weeks ago but it still fits and has protected the phone very well.
My camera has been amazing but did suffer a small chip out of the plastic corner, hopefully it's still waterproof.
The panniers and handlebar bag have been bombproof and will last me many more trips.
Both of my cycling shorts are starting to fray on the edges of the pad, one has a loose loop of thread that I'm amazed has lasted this long without tearing the whole pad apart so they won't be used for much longer.
Of the three pairs of socks I've been using only the pair I don't ride with has survived, the other two have lost all elasticity and are in a landfill somewhere on the East Coast.
I had to do some filing on the tent poles when they started to gall but other than that and the elastic replacement in WA the tent has been dependable and comfortable.
The sleeping bag has been great but the waterproof stuffsack has seen some wear. I've had the waterproof membrane facing out the front of the bike because it's bright orange but that probably wasn't the best idea since now the sun has degraded the fabric and that area of the sleeping bag has been damp after the past couple downpours.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Upstate NY was beautiful and had wide shoulders on the roads but there was quite a bit of debris. I rode past thousands of small pieces of broken glass and was surprised to make it through the state without a flat. There were also more bugs here than anywhere else, especially small spider that like to get into everything.
VT and MA were the most beautiful since the West and had a lot of little state forests and parks.
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