Trip Summary – 2023

In early July, we arrived back in Flagstaff. Five days later we transitioned to life on the road in our Teardrop. Since our return we’ve had the chance to relive our latest cycle tour with family and friends. Each retelling distills the trip to its most memorable moments. It is now almost time to send those moments off to live out their days in the Sunset Home for Old Trip Memories. Before saying goodbye though, we decided to take them out for one more walk down Memory Lane. Here are a few thoughts from the end of our trip in London, as well as our time in Portugal, Spain, France and England.  

As a general rule, we avoid large cities. Given time and proximity, we decided to set aside our prejudices and see what London had to offer. Quite a lot, it turned out. Historic sites. Easy and efficient public transport. Great Indian food. Theater (We saw Wicked – it was amazing). Masses of tourists. We’re still not sold on the whole megatropolis thing, but it was a good way to bring our travels to a close.

Since we’ve been back, people often ask, “What was your favorite country?” That’s really an impossible question. Over the past year and a half we have feasted on amazing natural beauty. We have been immersed in layers of history thousands of years deep. We’ve had our views of the world challenged, and been intrigued by cultural differences. We have been recipients of heartwarming kindness and humbling generosity. We now count as friends former strangers in places previously unknown. Someone once told us that her favorite food was, “Whatever is on my fork!” That sounds about right. We have found much to love in every country we have visited. Our favorite country is wherever we happen to be traveling.

I may not be willing to commit to a favorite country, I will say that most of our favorite memories have to do with people we’ve met. There were chance encounters with old friends from school. We reconnected with travelers we’d met on previous trips. We made new friends and crossed paths with wanderers and locals this time around. All those interactions wove a rich tapestry that captured the essence of our trip. So thank you! Thank you for the gift of time in a busy world. Thank you for offering a place to sleep, or a meal. Thank you for your curiosity and encouraging words. Thank you for sharing your stories, your insights, and your suggestions. Thank You All!

Friends – old and new!  

Throughout our travels, random thoughts will occur. These thoughts and observations often didn’t fit into the weekly recaps, so here they are – no particular order.

• Spain was the only country we have visited where my Spanish was often better than the locals’ English. That’s not saying much. Related thought: Lack of a common language is no excuse not to travel. We always managed to get by – and it usually involved lots of laughter.
• Locals in every country warned us about their “crazy” and “dangerous” drivers. We found just the opposite to be true. People were invariably polite and courteous in the extreme. We often had people wait patiently behind us for several minutes until it was safe to pass. And when they did pass, it was often with a smile and a wave. Honestly, American drivers suffered by comparison.
• Last year in Turkey, Gursoy said, “you are not tourists – you are adventurers!” As we met and traded stories with other cyclists traveling the globe, we felt welcomed into a fellowship of world travelers. Tourists were largely absent from many of the countries we visited. This year we were tourists! We joined throngs of tourists visiting touristic sites. It was not unpleasant, just different! Upon reflection, we prefer being adventurers.
• We loved traveling in countries with easy, inexpensive and readily available public transport. It is easy to imagine life without a car. How novel.
• Portugal, Spain, France and England are filled with “quaint” villages – often hundreds of years old. It is easy to imagine life there resembling some Hollywood movie – carefree, filled with quirky, colorful characters. The reality is that these are modern communities. People there deal with all the stresses (and joys) of modern life.   

Great Travel Quote: “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

Summary: In the last three years we have spent one full year traveling by bicycle. We have covered over 10,000 miles. We’ve crossed the length and breadth of Alaska, and several western states. We’ve visited seventeen countries. You might think that after all that time and all those miles, we might yearn for home and a more stationary life. Just the opposite! The desire to travel is almost a physical ache. Someone has said, “I haven’t been everywhere – but it’s on my list!” The more we see, the more we want to see…in our own country and around the world. Someone else said, “Don’t let your memories be bigger than your dreams.” This trip is now collection of memories, offering a warm glow whenever we recall them. We are very much looking forward to our next adventure(s). We hope you have been inspired to not just read about our adventures, but to make some of your own. Until next time – Seize the Carp!