My "waste of time" comment was partly fatigue-induced, but also a tongue in cheek comment too. Many people in the U.S. think cycling at all is a waste of time so I was sort of mocking that mindset. My job involves lots of time and resource management so when I get to waste my own time it's a great luxury. PBP was the capstone of my vacation, after all. The whole experience was so amazing: the other riders, the volunteers and townspeople along the route, the food, the drink. I first learned of PBP as a bike mechanic while in college 15 years ago and now I finally did it!