We are not really cheaters!

A few days ago, we passed a fellow touring cyclist. He then passed us a few minutes later when Liz broke her spoke, then we passed him at lunch, then he passed us, etc. On our final passing, we clearly were benefitting from our lack of stuff (nicely carried by our mother). He called us cheaters (somewhat joking, in a British accent). It felt pretty nice not to have to carry our things for a few days, and I felt a little bit guilty. Our114 mile day would have been impossible with our gear and without our mom with food and beer at the end.

I have discovered on our journey how many ways one can travel across the country on a bike. There are people who carry next to nothing, go really fast, and stay in hotels. There are the people who carry loads and say that they are camping, but really hotel anyway, and go fairly slowly. There was a man we passed who was doing 100 mile days with a loaded trailer on the back of his mountain bike. That looked tough. There are the couples who ride tandem bikes. Being stuck behind someone would really stink. Unless it is a family of 4, all on one gigantic cycle. That could be awesome, and good training for the circus. We also have met a man who was walking across the country, one of the most amazing people I have met. The majority of people seem to be like us, but that may just be the ones that we run into.

If I were to do the trip again, I do not know how I would do it. I enjoy the freedom of carrying my own stuff, but when I have less time (and hopefully more money), I could imagine taking less equipment in order to go more miles. Or, my real goal would be to train my future dog to run along side of me and jump into a high tech, lightweight trailer whenever it gets tired. No need to bungee it. It would be the ultimate cycling companion (other than Liz and Sarah). Either way, we loved to see our parents and spend time with them for the past few days! It gave us a real boost on our trip. I cannot believe we only have 7 days left.

-Cate