(sometimes technical challenges force me to publish the post in progress before completely finished-here is the continuation of the previous post)
Experiencing life intensely has been one of the unexpected gifts of this trip. I think that one of the greatest challenges I will face in the future is how to integrate this extreme intensity of living and awareness of life into my day to day experience when I return to my 'normal' routine. Maybe that's a good reason not to let myself get too settled and comfortable in a routine again. Life is truly lived outside your comfort zone.
Sunday's ride took us from Brattleboro, VT to Manchester, NH. By this point, I felt like I had nothing left to prove to myself and I actually enjoyed the ride to the fiat SAG stop at 32 miles. My friends Lindsay and Karen had arrived in the area to pick me up after the ride finished on Mondays so I coordinated with them and they scooped me up and I took Sunday afternoon off to relax with them before the final push on Monday. I was leaping with joy when I saw them!
Sunday evening in Manchester was the final banquet for the ride. Karen and Lindsay got to attend and it was fun to have someone from home meet my new family and put faces with to some of the people they had been hearing about. The banquet itself was a tender experience as we all began to bring some closure to our amazing journey together. Jeff Lazer gave me the inflatible turtle he had used to decorate his SAG stop table and the we presented Crist with a cycling jersey of a train engine to thank him for pulling us across the country. We belly laughed, sniffed back tears, reminisced and wondered at it all.
Monday morning brought the final ride to the ocean. Forty eight miles to the rendez-vous point at Rye Junior High School and then three miles with a police escort down to the beach. The first 20 miles had quite a few short but very steep climbs and I was determined not to get separated from Team Turtle. I rode my heart out and they held up at just the right times and we were able to finish the ride like we started it...together.
There was a 10 mile stretch that started around mile 35 where the terrain was calm as it went through a beautiful wetland and we were on the road just the five of us. We thanked each other for the gift of friendship and the love and support we received during the journey. We also rode a good piece of that ten mile stretch in silence, soaking in the beautiful scenery, the warmth of friendship and the joy of accomplishment. There are moments when life is beyond words and it is my prayer that everyone could experience a moment like we did in those ten miles. It took the 3,668 miles that came before them to make those 10 miles what they were and I suspect that is why many people never get to taste that kind of joy, they give up somewhere in the 3,668 or worse yet, they never even start the journey.
The rest of the day was a glorious blur. When we descended around a bend and caught our first view of the ocean I was filled with awe, gratitude and joy. Had we really bicycled from the Pacific to the Atlantic? How did we make it this far? How is it over so fast? What am I supposed to do next? What does this really mean?
I will post some final pictures and thoughts over the next few days. I want to thank you for your prayers and support throughout this incredible journey, your love and kindness were tangible and a mmajor contribution to the success of the ride. I also want to encourage you to check out Sam's blog at samsride.blogspot.com (or google 'Sam went for a ride'). His blog has many great photos and a lot of great technical information and insight about the ride.
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