Another successful trip! And this time I finished the planned route. Last year's trip ended 5 days early with a broken frame.

Overall the trip went well but I had recurring problems with split skin on my heel. I used sandals exclusively during the tour, and it seems like my heels can't handle getting bumped around in a very dry climate. I had the same problem on last year's tour. Sometimes it was painful to walk because of the split skin on my heels. I've concluded that my skin just isn't up to the task of biking in sandals in dry climates. Next year I plan to use regular enclosed bike shoes. But I still plan to wear Keen sandals for off-bike use.

Near the end of the tour my handlebar developed a creak that I never did troubleshoot. The creak went away after I got home. I never did figure out why. The only real mechanical problems were one flat tire and one broken rear derailleur cable.

Here are a few statistics from the tour:

Distance: 1583 miles (2533 km) with 206 miles (330 km) unpaved

Climbing: 56,933 feet (17,250 m)

Camped 23 nights, but only paid to camp 5 times

Motel 10 nights

Hiked 23.5 miles (38 km)

Average daily expense was about $36 per day, estimated as follows:

Groceries $10/day

Restaurants $10/day

Motels $14/day

Camping $2/day

This doesn't include the 1-way car rental to Boise which with fuel cost about $180.

I took only one true rest day during the 34-day tour. If I don't count that day my average daily mileage was 48 miles (77 km). Looking at my daily average speeds you can see that I'm a tortoise, not a hare.

I always lose weight during my bike tours. I started this tour weighing 180 pounds and finished the tour weighing 174 pounds. Bike touring is the 5000 calorie per day weight loss diet.

Wayne Estes

Oakland, Oregon