| Today was a pretty emotional day; thinking
about saying goodbye to friends developed over the last seven weeks,
contemplating a change in the routine that's become so ingrained, and riding
today in memory of my mother. After breakfast we took the opportunity for a
group picture, then started on our final day's journey to Washington, DC.
The day was pretty hilly, but we all had the energy and adrenaline, and
ended up riding quite close together for the first 15 miles or so. The ride
took us through some beautiful Maryland farmland, past huge estates, and
finally into the commercial suburbs outside of the capitol. We rode into DC
along the Potomac River, past the Watergate Hotel, around the back of the
Lincoln Memorial, past the Washington Monument, and ended up at the Old Post
Office building for a last lunch together. Lunch was provided by Costas
Pappas, a
Big Rider from 1998, who served us delicious Greek food and coffee. Riders
trickled in and ate lunch, and at 12:30 the staff headed down the mall to
meet us at the finish area. Bruce and I were responsible for staging and
releasing the riders in pairs or small groups so everyone would have a
chance to be recognized at the finish, and we started that at 1:00. Everyone
clapped as each group left, and Bruce and I brought up the rear. We rode
about 1½ miles across the Mall, around the Washington Monument, and further
down the Mall to a group of waiting Big Riders, friends, and families. It
was quite an emotional experience, and even though I didn't have anyone
meeting me, I still felt welcomed by the rest of the riders and their loved
ones. I felt a rush of accomplishment, shed a few tears, exchanged hugs and
introductions, and then called Sandy and talked to her for a few minutes.
I've really missed her and the kids, and am looking forward to
getting back home them on Monday. I
walked my bike toward the State Plaza Hotel, about 3 blocks away, along with
Bruce and his family, where we loaded our bikes onto the gear truck for
their transport back to Seattle, and picked up our bags. Checked into the
hotel, tried out the Internet connection, and took a nice shower in a real
bathroom! At 5:00 pm a rather large group of Big Riders met in Courtney's
suite for a reception, all planned by Courtney's husband Chuck. After some
hors d'oeuvres and champagne, I joined Bruce, Shelley, Jackie, Beth and Alan
for dinner at Bertucci's, a nearby Italian restaurant. After dinner we
headed back to the hotel where I collapsed into bed, worn out by the
physical and emotional expenditure of the day.
I feel a sense of accomplishment today, but not
as strong as I expected. I think it's because I'm still not off of the Big
Ride, that I haven't gotten far enough away from it to stand back and
observe what we all went through and what I learned about myself. I suspect
this will build in the coming days as I share with family and friends the
experiences, and review this site to help recall all the sights, sounds and
experiences of these last 48 days. Here
are some of the statistics of the ride:
- 3430 miles covered by me (includes all my
bonus miles plus miles rode on rest days)
- 13 states (OK, 12 states and a district)
- 32 wonderful friends
- 2 flat tires (out of the 163 total for all
riders), neither one on the road (one was a morning flat in Thompson
Falls, MT, the other at the end of the day outside the DeSmet, SD Dairy
Queen, after we had checked in at camp)
- About 100 cans of Red Bull, 150 little
bags of cashews, and more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches than I care
to count
- Only 1½ days of rain (first half of the
day from Missoula, MT to Avon, MT, and all day from Napoleon, OH to
Sandusky, OH)
- Never once did we have to setup or take
down our tents in the rain
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