Day 49 - Final Day!
Burlington, MA to the Atlantic Ocean at Revere Beach, MA -- 18 miles
Today was our LAST day and now our cross-country adventure is over. We departed at the usual time and everything was just as it has been for the last 45 days except that we did not have to bring our bags downstairs. That made the morning preparation a lot faster and easier. We rode away from the hotel knowing that this would be our last ride together as a group. We all wore our CrossRoads team jerseys as we paraded through the streets of suburban Boston toward the Atlantic coast at Revere Beach. At mile 13 we gathered together in a school parking lot and waited for all the riders to arrive since we got separated by traffic lights. We lined up two by two and rode the last 5 miles together to the Atlantic just as we began when we left our hotel in El Segundo, CA for the Pacific just 7 weeks ago. We proceeded through the streets with a police escort, rounded one last corner, and there waiting for us were throngs of friends and family members cheering our arrival. It was a thrilling moment. We stopped for a minute to take it all in, hugged one another in victory and, with bikes in tow, walked in unison toward the water for the official "wheel dip" in the Atlantic to finish what we had started. We felt like rock stars as bystanders snapped our pictures. Afterwards we loaded the bikes onto the vans and rode back to the hotel. I think it will take some "decompressing" time to comprehend what we have actually achieved.
I will fly away from Boston tomorrow morning with mixed emotions. Planning and preparing my body and my mind for this journey has totally consumed me for the past 8 months. In addition to the arduous pace of the tour (aka "cattle drive"), so much has happened to me personally since I left home on May 8. Our house sold and Lee bought another house which I will see for the first time when I get home! He has had the unenviable task of going through closets and drawers to pack up 15 years of memories and junk from a 6,800 sq. ft. house in preparation for our move 5 days after I get home. My son Brad was in what could have been a catastrophic car accident, but the by the grace of God, everyone was OK. My dentist brother, Mike, had a very bad bicycle accident and broke 3 ribs and dislocated his shoulder just 5 miles from his house. My other brother, Buddy, moved today from New York City to Grand Rapids, Michigan to begin a new chapter of his life as a priest. My sister, Trisha, had a possibly malignant lymph node removed last week and is awaiting the official report and treatment plan next week. As soon as I hit the door tomorrow I will have to help finish up the packing so that we can be out of our house on Wednesday. I think I'd rather bike another couple of thousand miles! But seriously, I am looking forward to returning to my life in Arkansas to discover how this experience has changed me.
I had wonderful support from a few special people that helped me make this dream a reality. First and foremost, I want to thank my husband Lee for his encouragement, understanding, training advice and financial backing as I worried whether I'd even be up to the task of completing such a goal. For six months leading up my departure, Lupe Gerfen, my friend, my yoga teacher and my personal trainer, helped to prepare my body physically for this challenge. Thanks also to Don Streit who gave me the mental tools I needed to persevere through the daily grind of such an undertaking. Curt Collie, my friend and my computer "blog" expert, gathered up my many emails and pictures and turned them into a work of art every day so that friends and family could follow my journey on-line. Marian and her staff at Weight Watchers gave me great advice and encouragement as I tried to whittle off as many pounds as I could in order t o climb all those hills -- and it really helped! Greg Ballard, Jeanie Muncy, Cindy Doramus and Debra Nagge at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas sent out hundreds and hundreds of letters to help me raise money -- $19,000 plus to date! Craig O'Neil from Today's THV promoted my story and reported updates occasionally while I was on the road. Thanks to all of my dear friends (Mary Alice, Cindy, Linda, Debbie, Maxine, Gail, Gracia, Vickie, Tonya, Lupe, Allison) and my children, brothers and sister who encouraged me regularly with phone calls, emails, faxes, cards and presents. Just knowing loved ones were thinking about me and missed me made a huge difference in my emotional state each day.
As Tracy, the CrossRoads owner and our biggest cheerleader, said to us tonight at our farewell banquet: "Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true." One of mine came true today. Thanks be to God for my health and this opportunity. Whatever your goal is in life, just go for it. You'll never know if you can do something or not unless you try!
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