I wish I could sum up those 72 days with every detail, but I can’t. Just imagine pedalling a 90-pound supply-loaded bike, for an average of eight hours a day — up and down dozens of mountains, on highly transited highways, in the desert, on dirt trails, in the snow, in the rain, in the sun. And all without any cycling experience.

I learned that you don’t need those fancy Clif energy shots to climb mountains. I had nothing but water (not even lunch) and climbed Boulder Mountain in 2.5 hours.

I learned that heat stroke is no joke. Two days of dehydration took its toll on my body — before I realized the shape I was in, I found myself sprawled next to the highway after two hours I don’t remember. Water is so valuable. It’s rough when, on some of these highways, you don’t have access to water for over a day’s worth of biking.

Above all, I learned to never doubt the kindness of other people. Along the way, our hosts and even complete strangers reached out and supported us.

The journey made me fall in love with this country and has taught me that it is more exotic than I thought, from the mountains of northern California to the old rail tracks of Missouri and back to D.C. If you think road trips are great, imagine going 10 times more slowly. You notice every detail on the road, in the sky and of the landscape.

It was not easy, but I did it — and I think anyone can, too. I was knocked down a lot on this trip. My bike broke down, I suffered a family tragedy in the first week and spent all my savings and the money from selling my car on food, supplies and repairs. I went through heat exhaustion, snow, hail, bugs, several days without showers, falls, not being able to communicate with the outside world and having no access to a toilet. But I have had some great feelings of accomplishment. There’s nothing like earning a break after reaching your goal for the day or the feeling of zooming down the top of a summit that took hours to pedal up. It makes water taste more delicious, sleep feel so much better and talking to my family and friends so much more valuable. That’s what made the end of this journey so much sweeter.