As I am enjoying a few off-days in Seattle, I consider my ride across the USA from east to west as done. Time for some stats. After 62 days in North-America and 54 riding-days (RD) the following stats can be taken as preliminary.

Current location: Seattle, WA

Total distance: 6019 km (3,740 miles)

Average dist per RD: 111.5 km (69 miles)

Longest dist per day: 205 km (127 miles)

Entered U.S.-States: 11 (Massachussetts, Connecticut, New York, [Canada: Ontario], Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington)

Number of punctures: 5

Number of times a mixture of state-troopers and police raided the condo I stayed at in the early morning to take my host into jail (“show me your hands!!”): 1

My route since Stats I (painted, not tracked):

The last days of riding through Washington went incredibly fast. I guess the ocean was calling me. Nevertheless the two final etappes before arrival-day turned out to be part of the top-five-hardest of the entire trip – so far. I had headwinds that went totally crazy – it felt like the country wanted to prevent beeing crossed. The Stevens-Pass was the last major climb. It is not steep or very high (4,061ft) but for me it meant a constant ascent over more than 45 miles.

The moment I arrived at downtown Seattle the U.S. Navy Blue Angels started to fly their program above Lake Washington – YEEEHAAA! That fit totally to my arrival-mood. Afterwards I met my host Carola at her work in downtown – a google-likish fancy office with a great view.

Right now I am enjoying the sweetness of doing almost nothing at her and her husband Bill’s small house in West-Seattle.

This feels like an important milestone to me. Like the duty is done now and everything to come is just the frosting. At the same time I still can’t believe what I achieved on my bike so far. When I started this trip I was curious about how this would change my mind. Now I can say that I probably never felt better. Riding along the endless roads I even experienced several moments of pure intrinsic joy that overwhelmed me, made me scream and drove me to tears. This journey also constantly reminds me on all the things to be grateful for – every day. This should become a mandatory experience for everyone 😉