Farewell!

Apologies for being so remiss in our blogging the last couple of days - they have been busy ones. And, regretfully, now I have to write my farewell post.

Yes, gentle, devoted readers, my part in this journey has come to an end. Please, do not weep; Ben shed enough grief today at the train station, in the form of buying us a farewell candy bar to share. And anyway, I may continue to sabotage this blog with my paltry writing skills by sending in rogue posts from Denver and Connecticut and whatever other non-European locations I will be in for the rest of the blog's lifetime.

In all seriousness, though, this journey - it cannot be called anything else - was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I have pushed my body past every limit I could have imagined, repeatedly. I met the most well-traveled, good-hearted, and hospitable people God (or nature, or both) ever made. I camped with the most beautiful views in the world visible through my tent flap. I got to know a great, lifetime friend even better - I am, of course, referring to my bicycle, Betsy. Ben, I hope you didn't think I was talking about you.

Jokes aside, Ben, you were a perfect traveling partner. Thanks for getting me up in the morning, keeping me pedaling up the climbs, and teaching me that the people you meet along the way are the best thing about traveling. Everyone who reads this blog should give Ben all the support you can, because what he is doing is amazing and I for one will continue journeying vicariously through him. Write a comment on his posts. Tell your friends about the blog. Send him good thoughts. Send him money - Norway was not a cheap lady to woo.

As for summaries of the last couple days, I will leave them to Ben. He'll need something to do in the nights alone in the tent, and since he'll be dreaming about me anyway, he'll have clear memories from which to write. Suffice it for now to say that we had a 125 kilometer day, saw old Swedish people tangoing until 6 in the morning, ate cheese underneath an old fortress in Kungalv, and had yet another successful night on the town, Goteborg-style.

If my sporadic and sleepily-written blog posts have passed anything along to any of our readers, I hope it is the itching desire to get out and do a trip like this yourselves. I won't propagandize our cycling or adventure-camping - though both are truly amazing - but in these two weeks I have learned more about this portion of the world than I know about places I have ever lived in for many years. Appreciate the beauty in everything and always keep pedaling, because the top of the hill is really not that far and your body actually has no limits - those are the somewhat cheesy, but totally true life lessons I have learned. I hope everyone reading this blog will get on a bike, even for a few kilometers, and discover whatever unique lessons about geography and life the ride has in store for you. And believe me, the ride will go by in a flash.

So, Ben, good luck and thanks for letting me tag along. Felix, if you do join up with Ben in Munich, know that Ben will be thinking, "Wow, now I REALLY miss Joe." Readers - and I learned that there are many more than the "tens" of you who I initially thought we were addressing - thanks for following us. Your comments, and just the knowledge that you took a second to read about us, helped us keep going. Stay eagerly tuned for the many amazing adventures Ben has yet to tell us about. I know I will. Neru, Oyvind, Mikal, Stephan, thanks for the couches. Lost Viking, thanks for the sailing. Annie Mae and Torild, thanks for breakfast and all the support. Mayra, thanks so much for the card, and for reminding us of the Miley Cyrus song "It's the climb" - I admit, I sang it to myself every time we went up a hill. And Ben's confidence was really boosted when you said he looks like Miley's boyfriend. Norway, thanks for the hills and fjords. Sweden, thanks for not having any hills or fjords. Nelly and Betsy, thanks for being such trusty steeds. And North Sea Cycle Route, thanks for obviously hiring drunk people to decide where to place the approximately 11 signs you bought for your entire 4,000 km route. Just kidding, but some signs between Leirvik and Haugesund would help.

Signing off for the last time - from Europe, at least. Thanks for reading, you are amazing. And so is cycling through Norway and Sweden. 'Til the next journey.

KM covered last two days: 175
KM covered total: 1,173

- Joe
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry