Thanks for following along during the Winter Olympics and special thanks to those who took the time to e-mail and comment (and sometimes gripe) about our coverage.

The comment I heard the most was, “I wish I could switch places with you?” (Or something along those lines.) I have to admit as far as work assignments go covering the Winter Olympics is at the top of the list. And I’ve covered some pretty cool stuff.

But in terms of fun, well that’s a different subject. Covering the games is much different than attending the games as a fan. What’s it like? I tell people to imagine the biggest party in the world. Then imagine walking right into the middle of the party, sitting down and opening up your laptop so you can work.

So, now that the Games are over and The News Tribune has shut down our Vancouver operations, I thought I’d share some of the details on what it’s like to cover an Olympics from start to finish.

By the numbers:

18 – The number of nights spent on the road.

15 – The number of nights I crashed in a sleeping bag on a couch. I’ve been married 13 years so this isn’t even close to a record for me.

30,000 – Milligrams of vitamin C I consumed to protect myself from the international media who apparently didn’t learn to cover their mouths when they cough when the world was freaking out about the H1N1 outbreak.

56 – The number of bus trips I took to get to the various venues.

$5 – The amount I paid for a worker to smuggle me a banana and orange for breakfast at the Richmond Oval. The only other options were chili dogs or roast beef sandwiches.

101 – The number of miles I walked around Whistler and Vancouver getting to and from events.

5 – The number of hours I was able to spend skiing during my 16-day stay in the ski resort village of Whistler.

74 – The number of granola bars I consumed to fight off hunger pains while I was writing.

14 – Average hours of work per day.

8 – Hours of work on the slowest day.

17 – Hours of work on my longest day.

1,500 – Column inches of copy written for The News Tribune in February.

10 – Minutes, on average, it took to defrost my fingers to the point where I could type after covering Alpine skiing or evening bobsled.

But, in the end, of course, the good always outweighs the hassles.

Thanks for following along.