What a refreshing post! One thing you might want to be prepared for - a bit of a letdown when you get home. You'll go from one lifestyle to something completely different. I always miss being on the road when I return, even though it's great to be home and while I'm on tour I often think about what I'm missing. But, hey, no big deal; I have my memories, and I know I'll go touring again. One nice thing about bike touring is that, while it's expensive at first to accumulate all the stuff, once you have it you don't need to spend much money to tour, and good touring equipment will last for years. (Of course, you can also get obsessive about getting the best and latest stuff, and continue spending money. I've got stuff in my parts boxes in my shop that I've completely forgotten about - things I bought and decided not to use, spare parts, things I bought for a project that I put on hold, etc.)

The west coast was my first big tour, and though hard, it was one of the very best experiences of my life!