I’ve been back in California for a week, I no longer look like my face was dragged across the pavement, but I still can’t eat properly, between the continued swelling in my lips and temporary brace that I need to wear for 6 weeks. Since I’ve been back I’ve slept (a lot), I’ve eaten, I’ve rested, I’ve enjoyed the idyllic bay area weather, and I’ve thought about the days I spent travelling on the trail.

The drive to Denver was fun, I retraced a long section of the plains that I had cycled. As I left Wichita the rain pounded my car and bolts of lightning struck the ground ahead of me. The storm gave way to oppressive heat, but this time I had air conditioning. The thermometer topped out at 42 C (107 F) and stayed over 100 until I started to approach Denver. After hours of flat the outline of the Rocky Mountains gradually appeared on the horizon.

I spent a day in Denver and did a walking tour of the downtown. It’s a large city with very grand public buildings and plaza. On Thursday I made the short walk from my hotel to Union Station to catch the California Zephyr. Due to storms in Nebraska that downed trees across the lines the train was running a few hours late. I boarded around lunchtime and after settling in to my cabin I visited the dining car for lunch as we climbed from Denver up to the Rocky Mountains.

It was fun to look out from Rollinsville to the road I had cycled up just a couple of weeks before. While the train journey over the Rockies was fun it paled in comparison to the experience of riding my fully loaded touring bike over Rollins pass. It took us the rest of the day to traverse Colorado, and the highlight of the trip for me were the Colorado River canyons, in this section the only other way to experience the scenery was rafting, and many of the rafters waved to us as we went by. Night fell as we entered Utah, by this point we were running 5 hours late, and I tucked up to bed.

As the sun rose we crossed from Utah into Nevada, crossing the sand flats into the Nevadan desert. Finally around lunchtime we picked up the Truckee River and crossed into California, climbing up and over the Sierra crest and descending into the Sacramento valley. As we crossed the Sacramento river delta the sun was low in the horizon and set with a stunning yello, orange, and purple sky over the bay as we rounded it and into Emeryville. As pretty as it was I was eager to get off the train and get home. It was a fun way to travel and I’m glad I did it, but it wasn’t quick.

Reflecting on my time on the trail, as I said before, and as probably came through from my updates, I had an amazing time that thoroughly exceeded all my expectations. For me the highlight was the expansive and varied landscapes that I travelled through. A bicycle forces you to be immersed into the environment through which you’re travelling, to see it, to smell it, to hear it, to feel the coolness of the mornings, the heat of the sun, the wind pushing you in all directions. It feels cliche to say but the national parks contained the most spectacular scenery, the hydrothermals in Yellowstone, and the soaring peaks in Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain, but the vast desert landscapes of the west were what really sticks in my mind.

I look forward to my next bicycle tour. I already have notes on gear changes I would make.