Boston to Vancouver 2014: Summary

It is almost 10 days since the end of our tour and i'm still finding it hard to get my head around the fact that we are finished. I think i had always thought that something would happen to prevent us from finishing so i had never allowed myself to think of finishing. One thing that is clear to me now is that it was not about the start or finish or the distance traveled, but the journey in between.

It's crazy to think that this time last year i had barely cycled in 20 years and 12 months later i have completed a 7000km tour. It is amazing what you can achieve with a bit of dreaming, determination and planning. There was a number of times during the planning process when we encountered problems where we could have backed out, but if your determined enough you will find a solution.

We are very lucky that neither of us fell ill or picked up any major injuries in the 98 days. We had some close calls with some trucks and cars but we had no accidents. 99% of the vehicles that passed us gave us plenty of room and lots of waves of encouragement. Nearly every person we met had some sort of Irish ancestry even if some were very remote. It is funny to meet people whose great grandfather was Irish and they still consider themselves as Irish as we are.

The major highlight of the tour for me and the memories that will stay with me the most is the people we met. Every person we met was friendly and helpful, which is a great thing to be able to say. We had so many great conversations with interesting people and met some great characters throughout the US and Canada. Also other cyclists we met were always helpful with route tips and local knowledge.

The next highlight for me would be the scenery. We had the misty coast of Maine, to the White and Green mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, to the Adirondacks of New York, to the Great lakes, to the flat corn fields of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, to the Katy trail in Missouri, to the Great plains of Kansas, to the Mountains of Colorado, to the dry desert of Wyoming, to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and finally the real Rockies in Canada. We have seen some amazing and unforgettable scenery and people are always asking me what my favorite place is. It is impossible to select one, so my 5 favourite days for scenery in no particular order are:

Day 4 Conway to North Woodstock, New Hampshire (Kancamagus Highway)
Day 14 Lewiston to Buffalo, New York (Niagara)
Day 65 Colter Bay to Grant Village, Wyoming (Tetons and Yellowstone)
Day 76 Glacier to Babb, Montana (Glacier National Park)
Day 86 Radium to Banff, Alberta (Kootenay National Park)

Another highlight is the actual cycling. It is a great way see and experience a country and the feeling of freedom while cycling is hard to explain.

We had a great final week in Vancouver. It was a great place to chill out and relax before we headed home. Brian and Shannon looked after us really well and we had a great time. There are some pictures below from the week.

We are home now and back to reality so if anyone knows someone who needs an accountant or a geneticist you can let us know.