I love it! You (collectively) have put your finger on my favorite aspect of bike touring. You plan a trip, you go ahead and do it... and at some point, you look back on it and think, wow, that was great!
The most miserable episodes encountered while actually on the tour ... riding through hot black smoke in a range fire ... setting up camp in the dark in the pouring rain ... unable to sleep because of the bugs ... standing, dripping wet, under a bridge, hiding from the lightning ... staring at a map and wondering, I know I'm right here, so where's the town that's supposed to be here? ... or whatever ... all have a way of turning into wonderful adventures in the retelling.
After enough distance, both physical and in time, almost any tour can become a Patrick McManus tale.
