where2pedalto.com

3 Oceans on 3 Wheels Post Mortem.

We thought that we would start this page by re-posting the announcement we made regarding our decision to stop our ride.

Dear Reader and Vicarious Traveler.

When we started our 3 Oceans on 3 Wheels trip, we were filled with a ton of excitement, expectation and wonderment, and month after month as our trip progressed, we experienced so many wonderful and amazing places, and met so many wonderful, warm, hospitable and fabulous people. But as good as all of that has been, as time has gone on and the miles disappeared under our tyres, we both began to enjoy the trip less and less, not so much because of the places we were seeing or the people we were meeting, but because the road is a hard task master and has been wearing us down physically and mentally.

For some time now we have been filled with indecision and wonder about where our trip has been heading, and somehow the dynamics of the trip changed, the goal of reaching the Atlantic Ocean and thereby completing the 3 ocean trilogy no longer seemed that important anymore. Over the last little while we have spent quite some time considering a number of options, but there was nothing that felt or seemed right, and so the only logical conclusion was that it was time finish this ride, and to go home.

We have both recognised that we love the outdoors, especially being in the middle of nowhere, surviving by our own means and challenging ourselves, and we have also recognised that we are not good at the city to city, town to town thing.

So now it is onto another small adventure, getting ourselves and our gear home. We are fortunate enough to have friends back in Arizona where we can sort, clean, package and organise it all from, and that is where we will be while we sort it all out.

Over the course of our trip many of you have been sending us messages that encouraged us, telling us how much you have enjoyed riding vicariously with us, we have kept and cherish them all, and we thank you for them. Some of you will be disappointed with our decision to finish, and we apologise to those of you who have been looking forward to our getting to and reporting on certain other places, and in some cases even meeting with us. We too are disappointed that the trip is over, but at the end of the day, we know that we have made the right decision.

Our trip statistics (from Deadhorse Alaska) are:
Total Distance: 8079.5 km's (5020.3 miles).
Average Distance: 52.8 km's per day (32.8 miles).
Total Time Pedaling: 618 hours, 22 minutes, 28 seconds.
Average Time Pedaling: 4hours, 2 minutes, 29 seconds.
Average Speed: 13.1 km/h (8.1mph).

Total distance (including Australia): 12,423.6km's (7719.6 miles).
Total Time Pedaling: 955 hours, 25 minutes, 5 seconds.

We are not sure where life is going to take us next, hopefully there will be more tours, though maybe slightly shorter than this type of epic, and we will no doubt report on them if and when they happen, but in the meantime we will be returning to Australia to see our family, 3 children and 9 grandchildren.

Thank you for riding along with us.

And so, with our memories refreshed, we will attempt to answer some of the questions that many of you have raised regarding this event, and to provide you with our thoughts and the process that we went through to make that decision.

Why did we stop? To be totally honest, there was no reason not to carry on with the trip except one - we had lost interest in the trip we were taking. As one person put it - after the Deadhorse to Calgary leg the rest of the trip seemed anticlimactic and perfunctionary, and on reflection - it was.

Alaska and Canada were tough, raw wilderness and harshness, where a mistake could very easily and quickly cost you dearly, and to then arrive in, and progress further and further into civilisation was overwhelming experience, and one that we had not really though much about. Gone was the rawness, the wilderness and the adventure, and in came an easier way of living, in which we found the hardest part being not to indulge.

We had focused so much on what we considered was to be the hardest part, that we had lost sight of the rest of the trip, its contents and difference. Added to that, the encroaching winter weather was beginning to play a very big part in it all, as was the realisation that the strict US immigration laws were going to impact on where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do.

Our plan of making it down the West Coast, and then turning inland to ride through Death Valley, Grand Canyon and then Monument Valley before heading for the Atlantic quickly dissolved, our forward progress not quick enough to stay one step ahead of the weather, or the immigration law time frame.

So with our plans going out of the window very quickly, we continued riding along a lot like a ship without a rudder, being turned at the whim of the elements and daily circumstances, with little control and seemingly with no real purpose to it all.

But as hard as the circumstances were starting to get, we were enjoying the ride down the West Coast of the USA. It was fun to be riding with other like minded people, and whose friendship we cherished. Despite this however, the issues remained, and with our not wanting to ride into Mexico, we began to plan an end to the trip in San Francisco. Then just when we had resigned ourselves to the end of the trip, we met up with Alex our German recumbent riding friend again, and so Los Angeles was going to be the end. And then a stop with Wayne and Kay, meeting Aaron, and stopping in with our friend Mike spurred us on, the end becoming an on again, off again affair. The Mojave desert loomed and all of a sudden there was a purpose and adventure again, despite underlying issues remaining.

The desert challenged us, and we were grateful for it. But as time and distance went on, more civilisation crept back into the picture and we were unable and unwilling to hunt out campsites. Taking the easier option of more and more stops in motels really killed our adventurous spirit.

A side trip to Las Vegas to meet with a good friend then came upon the radar and our meeting with Bob again really buoyed our spirits. But as good as we felt about that, our ride was slipping further and further down the slippery slope to its eventual demise.

Back into the desert we began to make good progress, and after leaving friends in both Phoenix and Tuscon we began to make our way along the Mexican border towards Texas. But as interesting and nice as the desert and the temperature ranges were, neither of us were feeling committed to the ride. It was only a matter of time before we finally made the hard decision to stop - it just wasn't fun anymore.

We had been in a quandary about what to do for some time, and our reluctance to confront the issue was only making it worse. So, sitting in the only motel in Columbus New Mexico, we finally sat down to seriously debate our future and the trip. What were our options?

We identified and discussed four options:

1. continue riding until our US immigration form (I94) ran out (March 23rd), leaving our gear somewhere in a storage unit, to leave North America by flying to relatives in the UK, then returning after a month (which was what we were led to believe was the required time lapse), return and hope to be allowed back into the US to continue;

2. continue riding until our immigration form (I94) ran out (March 23rd), leaving our gear somewhere in a storage unit, to leave North America by flying to Australia, then returning after a month (which was what we were led to believe was the required time lapse), return and hope to be allowed back into the US to continue;

3. continue riding until our immigration form (I94) ran out (March 23rd) and then leaving North America by flying somewhere else in the world to ride; or

4. just going home.

Apart from the cost of return trip flights, which would seriously eat into our funds, our biggest fear was leaving our equipment in the US when we left, only to be told we could not re-enter when we came back. As far as we knew there was no reason why we wouldn't be let back in, but with the vagaries of the US immigration system, anything could have happened, and we were not willing to take that risk. Of course we could have taken our equipment with us but really didn't want to do that because of the weight and size restrictions on the airlines.

So with various options identified, but no real decision made, Joanne went for a walk and on her return announced "that is it. We are stopping." She had managed to come to the conclusion I should have come to some time ago, but had got in before me with the announcement. We discussed it some more and then sadly realised that the decision had been made, and it was all over. It was such a bitter-sweet time, and as the reality of the decision set in, we experienced many, many emotions; elation at the idea of going home was mixed with the bitter disappointment that we would not ride triumphantly to the Atlantic and thereby complete the tour. We were also very much aware that we would not be the only ones that would experience some emotion after we announced our intention. Just how would we tell everyone, and how would they react? Some would say that that is not important, but it was to us.

Reluctantly, and with some feelings of guilt, we announced to the world, our intention to stop the ride, and were totally humbled by the response. Some followers asked us to re-consider, some said they could see it coming after reading between the lines, and others, thanked us for the ride and the effort. To a man, or woman, all of those that wrote to us regarding our decision were so gracious and supportive that we really felt bad, really bad, yet happy that people were so kind, and understanding.

So with the trip officially over, we rode our last ride to Deming in the coldest temperature we have experienced, hired a truck, drove back to friends in Phoenix, booked some flights, traveled back to LA, packed up and flew out. We are so lucky to have good friends in both Phoenix and LA, and their help sure made getting home easier.

We stripped the trikes down and boxed them up, and with all our gear in three suitcases, safely and comfortably flew with Air New Zealand from LA to Rarotonga, Auckland and then onto Melbourne where we were reunited with family again.

Damage on the trikes was limited to a bent steering arm on Pip so a claim to Air New Zealand will be made for the cost of a replacement.

So now, after a few weeks with parents and family, all we have to do is to get over to Perth where our children and grandchildren are living and the trip will be complete.

Lessons Learn't.

What did we learn, if anything from our experience? Well, we learn't that:

1. we are not town to town cycle tourists, and if we are to continue touring we are going to have to change our mindset on this, or come up with another plan of attack for dealing with this inevitable part of cycle touring;

2. the mind often wants what the body struggles to deliver, and we are no different;

3. we have to plan on more days between deadlines than before as our speed is slower, or we have to ride for longer;

4. we recognise that no matter how much planning you do, it is never enough;

5. long tours (over 6 months) are hard work, and we are not sure we are up to them anymore;

6. we need to become more tourist as opposed to performance orientated;

7. we need to continue to refine our equipment and touring load to make it lighter, and more managable;

8. we need to be more flexible and open to alternatives rather than being "blinkered";

9. we need to ride for us and our own reasons, and less for entertaining other people;

10. filming a trip is hard as the job of filming and setting up etc takes over the trip and finding a good balance is hard; and

11. Schwalbe Marathon XR and Maxxis Hookworm tyres are bomb proof.

How was the trip overall? Despite the end of our trip not being that of the victorious riders approaching the Atlantic Ocean after conquering their quest, we can honestly say that enjoyed the trip immensley, and it has impacted our lives in a positive way.

From the frozen expanse of the arctic, the scenic yet wonderful Canadian wilderness and the diverse and somewhat overwhelming USA, we experienced many wonderful places, some of which we want to return to for another look; met and interacted with many wonderful, salt of the earth people, and tested ourselves as never before - and survived.

Thanks

We recognise that our trip was only possible because of other people and their willingness to help and their generosity. And rather than try to name them all and risk missing and offending some you, we will just say this.

To all of you who helped us plan, travel, pack, move, obtain equipment, transported us around, gave us food, shelter, friendship, advice, inspiration, and assistance of any kind, no matter how big or small- we can only and very simply and humbly say, Thank You.

So what of the future?

With a few ideas for other trips in mind, the near future will see us return to the workforce for a while, catch up with and enjoy our family, sort through all the photo's and video's etc and put a completed visual account of the trip before we decide on and plan the next escape. As someone once said - Watch this space!