We are shaped by our experiences just as much as our successes or losses. One can easily look at life itself as a journey, a passage, with destinations all the way depending on how we wish to live. Meeting those milestones does not end one's journey... and what happens along the way sets up more milestones or changes one's direction and focus.

Most of the people here seem to be relatively young so they have little reason to complain. When they reach my age then perhaps they can grouse about such things as the time required for travel, on foot or otherwise.

I'm sure you took away a fair bit of knowledge with those bruises. Such things are rarely for naught.