Epilogue

21 September 2010

Crocs made it to the end

I finished the trip 6 days earlier than I planned. I went into the ocean to dip my feet and symbolically end the tour. As I stood in the water with my crocs on, I had a feeling that I made it through the continent in a ridiculously swift and easy way.

As a matter of fact I am grateful that I had troubles with the tire. If that hadn't happen, the tour would look like a stroll in the park, without anything worth mentioning. And we know that bicycle tours shouldn't be like that. They should be hard ordeals, testing the limits of our body and mind, resulting in the end in glorious feeling of victory and self-sufficiency. That is how it should be! I suddenly realized that my light-weight concept is actually depriving me of such deep, satisfying feelings. You can't suffer enough with just a small pack in the back. And if you can't suffer - you can't enjoy.

So, I decided that I will never go ultra-light cycling again! This is the end! I am joining the fully-loaded, self-sufficient crowd!

Top of Menoaneng pass (3014m) in Lesotho. A covenient place to say farewell to ultralightweight cycling.