Final Thoughts

Well it's been a week since I finished the East Coast ride and I'm back in Pennsylvania where the leaves and the temperatures are dropping.  I wasn't home 24 hours before I started looking for maps for the Eurovelo 6 bicycle route across Europe!
In my opening statements of this blog I said "  ... most touring bicyclists will tell you that it is the journey that is more important, not the destination.  It's stopping in small towns, eating at a local diner, asking people directions, accepting hospitality, thanking people with a handshake and a smile.  That's really what I'm looking for.  I'll let you know if I find it."  By and large, that was exactly what I found.  The people along the way were just great.  Whether they were in a gas station, country store, diner, convenience store, they were always friendly and happy to give directions or advice.  There were some times, however, particularly from South Carolina to Florida, where the destination was the key point.  Mostly because there wasn't much between the beginning and end points of the day, and because I was riding on more main roads (Route 17, Route 1, Route A1A) that didn't offer much in the way of interesting stopping points.
But, even with that said, I would qualify the trip as a real success.  When I began the trip, I thought it was going to be mostly about seeing the various states and interesting places along the route.  And I certainly did see some beautiful and interesting places.  However, I quickly learned that the real enjoyment of the trip was coming from the people I met along the way.  Particularly the people who hosted me and allowed me to either use their backyard for a safe tenting spot, or those who gave me a warm bed and often a meal or two.  Most of these hosts were from the Warm Showers web site although I also stayed with two hosts from the Couchsurfing website.  
I still can't get over the hospitality these people offered to me, a perfect stranger.  Some of these people weren't even home when I arrived and yet they told me how to get into their home, use the shower, laundry, get some food out of the fridge, and make myself at home.  Two of my hosts were out of town and weren't coming home at all and still let me use their home to rest for the night.  That's just amazing!!
It really has been a trip to reaffirm that there are wonderful, good, honest, thoughtful people out there in the world.  We don't hear about them on the news and we just have to go out and meet them.  Sometimes that means leaving our comfort zone; our home, our town, our village.  
I can't wait to start another trip but for now I'll be home for several months so my doors are open to host anyone out there who happens to be cycling through the Hanover area.  
Thank you again to all my wonderful hosts on this trip and thank you to those who followed the blog and left comments - it was nice to have a connection back home. 
Now dust off those bikes, fill the tires, and get out there!!

Best regards,

Doug