By the Numbers: 59 Days & 2,552 Miles.

Before we write our final post about what this journey meant to us, we thought we would reduce nearly two months of bicycle travel to a collection of numbers. Some were carefully recorded, some are reasonable estimates, and others came from a highly questionable roadside accounting system.

The Big Numbers:

- 59 days in Europe
- 52 riding days
- 7 complete rest days (some did not feel like rest as we were traveling or walking a lot)
- 2,552 miles ridden
- 179,191 ft of climbing

That climbing equals almost 34 vertical miles, or roughly six trips from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest.

We averaged 49.1 miles per riding day, with an average of 3,446 feet of climbing. Overall, we climbed about 70 feet for every mile we traveled.

My spreadsheet predicted 180,105 feet of climbing. The final number was only 914 feet lower, meaning the prediction was off by about 1.5%.

My mileage prediction of 2,537 was also remarkably close to our final total of 2,552 miles. Only 0.59% off the mark! Apparently, spending weeks studying maps and spreadsheets occasionally pays off.

The Long and Short of It

Our longest and biggest climbing day was the ride from Lisbon to Caldas da Rainha:

- 70.58 miles
- 6,791 feet of climbing

Our shortest riding day was only 2.65 miles. That was the day we rented a car in Pau, drove approximately six and a half hours to Niort, returned the car, and then rode to our Warmshowers hosts.

Even a car-transfer day apparently required a little bicycling.

Four Countries by Bicycle

Portugal: 593.69 miles, 57,117 feet of climbing, 14 overnights

Spain: 754.66 miles, 59,516 feet of climbing, 16 overnights

France: 1,004.71 miles, 53,100 feet of climbing, 19 overnights

Belgium: 198.79 miles, 5,758 feet of climbing, 7 overnights

That gave us four countries traveled by bicycle and three international borders crossed on two wheels.

The United States makes five countries involved in the journey. Denmark makes six if changing planes in Copenhagen earns us another flag.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles, Shuttles, and Tiny Ferries

2 international air journeys

4 individual flights

2 Copenhagen airport transfers

3 car legs: Iowa City to Chicago, Pau to Niort, and Chicago back to Iowa City

1 train journey: Mol to Brussels Airport, using two trains

2 Brussels airport shuttles

2 tiny hand-operated ferries, which we pulled across the water using a chain while bringing our bicycles along

Keeping the Bicycles Alive

4 flat tires

I had three flats. Two were caused by rose thorns, and one came from a wood screw.

Lisa had one flat caused by a small piece of metal.

We also had:

1 broken rear derailleur cable

0 other significant bicycle repairs

0 riding crashes

1 bicycle-box crash, when the boxes fell from the luggage cart at Brussels Airport after hitting a crack while trying to get to the hotel shuttle.

After 2,552 miles, our only crash involved stationary bicycles sealed inside cardboard boxes.

Beds, Hosts, and Friends

41 nights in hotels, apartments, Airbnbs, and bed-and-breakfasts

14 Warmshowers stays or nights

5 nights with friends or hosts

6 old friends revisited

2 Warmshowers reunions: Aude, and Feyyaz and Arielle

We also made new friends through every Warmshowers visit, along with cyclists and other people we met along the road.

Some of the best encounters could never have been scheduled, especially the wrong turn in Soulaines-Dhuys that led us to Jean-Claude and Emmanuel, coffee beside their pond, stories shared through a translation app, a postcard, homemade honey, and a couple of big hugs.

Walking Around Europe (tracked by Lisa’s Garmin watch)

Total steps: 410,0075

Estimated miles walked: 182 miles

Most steps in one day: 16,411

We also took well over 1,000 photographs and created more than 55 FindPenguins posts.

How We Fueled the Journey

These figures are less precise, although extensive research was conducted:

About 30 baguettes

Bottles of wine sampled: still under investigation, although probably a few too many to remember accurately

About 20 cheeses

About 18 Belgian beers

About 14 bowls or baskets of fries

About 15 or 16 homemade meals shared with hosts

About 10 grocery-store dinners

About 10 restaurant dinners

4 kebabs (we are admitting)

Approximately 30 small laundry loads

We did not eat as many fries, cheeses, or kebabs as originally planned. This may be the trip’s greatest statistical failure.

The Highly Unofficial Numbers

321 churches photographed

14 war memorials photographed or visited

About 5 castles properly explored

About 57 tractors photographed for Nathan

1,327 dogs that barked at us

3 dogs that chased us

6 or 7 playgrounds tested

12 times we said, “It’s going to burn off!”

11½ times it actually burned off

1 wrong turn that led to something truly wonderful

The number of donkeys and small horses spotted remains under investigation.

We attempted somewhere between five and eight languages, depending on whether pointing, smiling, and holding up a phone translator qualify as speaking.

The numbers measure the length, height, and occasional absurdity of the journey. They cannot measure the kindness we received, the friendships renewed, the meals shared, or how often an ordinary day turned into something we will remember for the rest of our lives.Read more