Aw, man! It sounds like you were doing a good job, but just had one of those "one of those days" weekends ie: genuine case of a bad luck streak. I agree with you that you shouldn`t consider it afailure and I agree with whoever said you had done the right thing by throwing in the towel. A lot of forum posters here and elsewhere seem t ohave the "no pain, no gain" attitude, but I personally don`t see it that way. I overdid it a few years ago and as a reward for pushing myself too far I got a string of doctor visits, X-rays, and an MRI and was off the bike for about the next three months. The next time I started to hurt seriously I called for a ride (in mid tour, a half day`s drive for my father who came to bail me out). For throwing in the towel when it was time, I was back on the bike in another week- much better option IMO.

So you learned some and survived your first tour- are you going to try it again? And WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?!