• Miles today 67.8
• Miles total 3866.6
• Elevation today 2434 ft
• Elevation total 155956 ft
• Weather – Wet and cold – rain was overrunning the gutters. Start temp low 40’s, end temp in low 50’s. Wind blowing at the beach about 15 mph – it was crazy cold!

Today was the final ride of the trip – shorty of 68-ish miles. Expectations after 4 days of perfect cycling weather that we would have a brief shower. Well…..it poured buckets all day, freezing cold where on any decents the rain felt like ice pellets!!!! We had a pizza party at a park under a gazebo, half the group hopped in the van for heat! We were all soaked to the bone, shivering standing ….had to ride to stay moderately warm. Mo nature was giving us a rude send off.

The ride itself was thru the country side of Maine. Lots of trees and farms. It was rolly but the important thing was each roll you could get to the top without an all out effort. Wish that would have been the case everywhere!

We got to the beach to a great family welcome with screams, signs and cow bells. It was surreal as to why all the people and why the cheers, it was just another ride! But of course it wasn’t – it was a scramble to get to the beach, get in proper gear for pics and the the pics. The folks who came were so excited and they were freezing as the wind was howling with coming down sideways. What a way to end!

Standing in the beach with everyone taking photos, I felt that the red carpet or the reveal of astronauts – but hey we are a bunch cyclists just doing a bunch of rides! I had three goals – arrive alive at the finish, no rides in the van and have fun and laugh about everything. Mission accomplished!!! But more importantly I got a bigger community, I got new close friends, I got a new appreciation to overcome adversity and I got the internal strength that I can bike.

The end is bittersweet – crazy stories that need context, diverse personalities all willing to laugh and guides who always helping and keeping us going. Walking back from the beach to the vans, dropping the bikes to be shuttled to another hotel, it was mesmerizing. 47 days of cycling, what a wild way to enjoy seeing the US. So grateful of the people on the trip and grateful to Carol for all the support.

I know it’s good to set goals and have a plan – I’m going to let this one sit a bit, then reflect!

Tomorrow will be final breakfast….