This past summer I biked 2,500 miles up the entire East Coast with my wife.

We started in Key West, FL and a little over 2 months later ended at the border of Canada in Calais, ME. At times, it felt like we were on the Amazing Race taking on some grand adventure, other times it felt a like vacation, and others still it just felt like an endless workout class we couldn't escape from.

Sara and I often talked about our observations and lessons learned along the way, so here's a recap from our primary takeaways.

Lessons learned:

• Start early, so you have all day if there's issues. Whether it was getting a flat tire an hour before sunset or showing up towards the end of the day to a camp site that ended up being full, it made a big difference being able to audible earlier in the day.

• Have contingency plans. We know things will go wrong (such as above). We just don't know what, when or where. The more we talked about alternative options, the better prepared we were for the inevitable road closures, bike issues, or lodging issues we encountered.

• Have a good team. I've always heard the adage "if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together". It definitely rang true on this trip. I am so appreciative of having Sara as my life partner, maintenance lead and companion to pick one another up throughout the trek.

• Accept support when offered. Don't be too proud. There were times the offer to support us was clearly just as important to the other party as to us. It reminded us we're capable of helping one another in small and big ways everyday. From strangers offering us water and ice on hot days to someone fixing our bike trailer to countless people housing us, feeding us and showing us their communities, we felt so grateful. The acts of kindness were countless and our gratitude is immense.

Other observations:

• A shower is a great reset. So many times we felt completely drained and defeated and the simple act of taking a shower always invigorated and rejuvenated us.

• We spent most our days outside. Between biking, camping and walking around towns we realized we were outside most of the day (and usually reapplying sunscreen and seeking shade when possible). That was in stark contrast to lives at home, even though we consider ourselves active individuals. We want to work to reincorporate more outdoor moments into our lives at home.

• Act like an operator (and align organizational incentives to allow employees to do so). So many times we encountered workers that didn't care or do the thing that would be in the best interest of their organization. As frustrating as it was, we talked about it likely not being the fault of the employee because they likely weren't incentivized to care. How can we better align incentives to serve the customer and empower individuals to act like the organizational operator?

• Life is fleeting. Trip went fast. Pain and fatigue were temporary. If there's something you want to do, say, act on do it because you never know how long you have.

• Step outside your routine. It doesn't take a 2+ month bike trip to self reflect but any step outside our routines can be a great opportunity to learn more about ourselves.

• Faith in humanity restored. This was the single most spoken quote of our trip. We often talked about how media today just shows the issues and divides between people, but when given the chance it was incredible how kind, generous, and welcoming individuals from all walks of life were towards us. We will strive to carry that forward.