This is written after the ride. One of the great things about a long ride like this is that you really get to know the other riders. It was a great group of (as it turns out) guys and we had a lot of laughs, some tears, and a lot of memories. Here they are and something about them and their bikes.

The Leaders

BD: is from NH and was a newspaper editor. I believe he turned 69 on the trip. He was one of the leaders and was with us the whole trip. As a leader he rode every other day and drove the van on the days he didn't ride. He rode a Bianci touring bike. He loved to stop at diners and especially liked steak and eggs. He did that on both his driving and riding days. He loved to drink Arnold Palmers. He did not like to back up the van. He got endless ribbing from BW and took it all in stride.

AH: is from Montana and has had previous full-time roles with ACA. I recall that he is in his late 60s. He is a large guy (320 pounds I believe he said) and rides a 2012 Vaya Travel (stainless steel frame with S&S couplers). He is a very experienced tourist and tour leader and provided a lot of great guidance for the first half of the trip. Due to family travel commitments, he was with us until Austin.

JG is from San Diego and was the oldest riders: I recall he is 76. He rides a Surly Long Haul Trucker. He joined us in Austin and helped lead that part of the ride. He was always very chill and mellow and very encouraging. He did not mind backing up the van. He would let us get away with more than BD.

The Riders

JF is from the SF Bay Area and was a prosecutor. I recall that he is in his late 60s. He is very interested in climate change. He rode a Surly Bridge club bike. It had 1x gearing. I think he wished he had a lighter bike. JF was an EFI-er (i.e, he road every freakin' inch). Twice he didn't finish the ride for the day, once because it was getting late and once because there was thunder and lightning. He was driven back to where he ended the day before and continued there. That made those days long. I gather he was one of the least experienced riders, and he was often the last one off the road (except for the leaders). His grit and determination was an inspiration to me.

BW  is from the NYC area and owned a business where he renovated hotels. He rode a Fuji road bike (perhaps a Roubaix?) with aerobars and set up with tubeless tires. He has done a lot of mountaineering. About 1.5 years before the trip he tore his quadricep tendon and had to have it surgically repaired. He was especially grateful for completing the ride as a result of that.  BW was one of the two unofficial weathermen of the trip, giving the nightly weather report at the map meetings. He was accused by BD of being the bringer of doom and gloom. He tended to be the first person to leave camp in the morning and one of the first to finish in the afternoon. I often did parts of the ride with him (usually with him in toe) and we often ate lunch near the end as we both often arrived before the van. He made dozens (o.k., maybe 3-4) sandwiches each day and ate them throughout the day and night. He was endlessly kidding BD, and endlessly preaching the value of leaving early to avoid afternoon winds and heat. He had the weirdest injury of the tour, a fungal skin infection his derrière, known as Dottie. It kept him from riding for almost a week. Endless jokes were made about this and the fact that the leaders had to check it out to see if it was getting better. Fortunately it cleared up and he was able to ride again. He often made very good grilled chicken when he cooked. He was a lot of laughs.

JW, aka the coffee man, is from Boston and Cape Code. he rode a custom Co-Motion touring bike, which he needed because he is very tall (6'3").  I believe he is in his early 70s. He has a Ph.D. in aeronautics and worked for Bose. He was the nicest guy on the trip and the best cook. He got up to make coffee every day starting very early in the trip. When he cooked he had complicated recipes cooked very well. I cooked with him twice and it was a real pleasure (Taco Soup and Fajitas). He often rode with PB, SR, and JE. In the middle of the ride he rode with WD. He rode EFI.

PB is from Ottawa and is a very experienced tourist. He is 75 and the oldest on the tour until JG joined in Austin. He was very independent. He navigated using a combination of the paper maps, his phone running RWGPS, and a Garmin. He probably had the most flats, but won't tell exactly how many he had. He was the only other person to have a power meter, which he used religiously to prevent himself from going too hard on hills. In the beginning of the ride JE and SR rode with him and helped him from going off-route. At the end of the ride he was riding by himself. I rode a touring bike, I believe a Bianci, and always had panniers filled with tools and clothes, even on days with lots of climbing when I emptied my saddlebag of everything I likely wouldn't need. I believe he rode 700x35 tires and they were definitely with tubes. He probably had the most flats, but was reluctant to say.

WD is from Tallahassee, FL and rode a 2004 Lightspeed Titanium with full Dura Ace. It was a beautiful bike at the time, but had gearing typical of the time: I guess 53/40 chainrings and a 11-27 cassette. That would not have been enough low gears for me. It also had 700x23 tires, which he converted to 700x25 during the tour. He ran them at full pressure (110 psi) and told me that if he ran over a dime he could tell what year. It is not the tire setup I would have used for West Texas. WD had through hiked the AT and taught kids with learning differences as a career. He was an endless supply of 'dad' jokes. He was leading in flats (I think 7) when he left the tour in El Paso. He got a cold early in the trip that turned into bronchitis. That got better, but then came back again, prompting him to leave the tour.

SR was the only person on the tour smaller than I (I believe 5'2" and 120 lbs). He is from WI. He is the most experienced bicycle tourist in the group, having ridden the ST self contained and solo about 10 years ago. He also has ridden in and helped plan many other long tours. I believe he has well over 50k of lifetime miles and is very knowledgeable about bike repair. He helped many people change flats, helped BW renew is tubeless sealant, adjusted derailleurs, etc. He rode with Ethan and I for the 4 hard days in AZ. At the beginning he rode with PB and JE, but later in the tour rode with JE and JW. He is a very good climber, but is gravitationally challenged on downhills. I suggested he put rocks in his pocket at the tops of hills. He was full of endless sarcasm, and got a little frustrated when GPX files changed and there  was no wifi (to update his Wahoo) or were inaccurate. He is a very dedicated birder and saw several birds he had never seen before. He rode a Kestrel set up with tubeless tires, I believe 700x32. I believe he is in his late 60s. He rode EFI.

DS: is from Seattle. I don't know what he did as a career, but he was in the Marines for a while. He is quiet and a super nice guy. he and JF washed dishes almost every night and morning, even if it wasn't their day to cook. He rode a custom Rodriguez bike with fat bars and and Enviolo 15-speed hub. The tires were 26" in diameter and I would guess 48mm wide. He did not have a flat the entire tour despite running tubeless. He carried stuff in front panniers, which he liked because he could reach it without dismounting his bike. He was usually one of the later riders to finish. Near the end of the tour he got a high ankle injury, perhaps tendonitis, and couldn't ride for about a week. He was even more helpful than usual during that period. Fortunately, he was able to get back on his bike and ride the last 3 days. He, along with JF, were real inspirations in terms as they were riding a long time each day. I believe he is in his early 70s.

JE: was the youngest rider on the tour at 64. He lives in Texas and rode a Canondale Hybrid bike. I would say it was the least expensive bike on the tour. I would guess his tires were 700x48 or so. He has ridden RAGBRAI man times and is a retired engineer from TI. He was the most gregarious person on the tour, often talking to strangers at camp and telling them about what we were doing. He was great about helping pack up the van each morning, and about fixing things like wiring on the grate on the gas stove, fixing parts on the van, etc. His wife met us in Austin and again in San Diego. She brought some very good cookies at the former place. He rode EFI, which is especially impressive as he had some trouble with heart arrhythmia and blood pressure medicines near Austin. The helped shepherd PB in the early days, along with SR. Later in the ride he rode with SR and JW. He liked to go fast downhills and report his top speed.