Day 52 -- Manchester, NH to Portsmouth, NH

Miles: 67.65
Total Miles: 4000.76
Time: 4:57
Average Speed: 13.8 mph
Max Speed: 35.3 mph
Flats Today: 0
Total Flats: 15
Elevation Gain: 2602 ft
Weather: Slight tail winds around 80 degrees
Before I talk about today, I want to talk a little bit about last night. We had our official goodbye ceremony, we got t-shirts, and we all got to say what we wanted to in front of everyone. It was a great and very emotional night because it was our last dinner together. We're all going to miss one another tremendously, and most of us won't see each other ever again. It's sad to think about, but it's amazing to think that we made it coast to coast with all of these guys. Anyway, today was the last official day of riding on our trip. It was a very ceremonial day and it was filled with bittersweet feeling of sadness and excitement. It was sad to ride with those guys for the very last time, yet it was very exciting to reach the Atlantic Ocean. We woke up at 5:30, ate breakfast at 6:00, loaded at 7:00, that started the beginning of the end. All of us decided to ride out together in a huge pace line since we started the first day the same way. The pace line was the longest I've ever seen, and it was great for photos. The line stayed together for the first 15 miles, then we got into some steeper hills and it started to break up. We generally all stayed together for the entire ride to the sag stop, but there was a little bit of separation. Also, during the entire ride to the first sag stop, there was more awesome scenery, great shade, and beautiful small lakes. We all eventually arrived at the only sag stop for the day, which happened to be the very last sag stop of the ride. It was packed since everyone was there at the same time, so we didn't eat as much as we usually do, and we didn't stay as long as we usually do. Once some people started leaving, everyone started heading out in a group again. We followed that group out and stayed with them until Freddy started getting a flat in his rear tire. By the way, Freddy was crowned the flat king last night because he had 15 flats on the trip, which was the most out of everyone... and he had 3 of those today. Anyway, it was a slow leak, so he rode slow and waited for one of the sag vans to come along so he could change it then get a floor pump to pump it up all of the way. We stayed with him until the sag van came, then we continued the ride. Only about 2 miles past where he stopped with the sag van, we stopped at a cafe. I decided to try another capuchino. Fran said this one was better than the last, but it still wasn't very good. We finished off our capuchinos, then we rode the last 5 miles to Rye Junior High. That was where all of us met in order to ride all together to the beach and dip our wheels. By the time we got there, most people were there already, and they had bikes hanging in a tree. We soon realized why they were there because about 15 minutes later we took our final group picture under that tree. It was a pretty good picture, but they only took pictures with the staff's cameras to save time. We did get a good picture with Wade and the young guys on the trip and one with me and the staff.

Once we were done with all of the pictures, we lined up in rows of 4 across and got behind some police cars. We had a police escort for the last 3 miles to the beach. It was the most emotional, exciting, and coolest part of the trip. To be able to ride with Wade, Fran, and all of the riders and 2 police cars in front of us with one behind as well was absolutely amazing. I can't explain how I felt at that time or how I felt any part of this last day, but it has been emotional in every sense of the word. Anyway, Wade got some great pictures while riding with the group and having the ocean off to our right. It was beautiful, and we couldn't have asked for a better day. We eventually made our way to the beach where we were dipping our tires, and it was awesome. There were people's families lined up cheering them on, tears streaming down people's faces, and a lot of pictures. Fran's family was there to cheer him on and they even made a banner for him to ride through. When we got through the parking lot of the beach, we took off our shoes and socks and went down to the water. We dipped our front wheel in the water, got someone to take pictures of us doing it, got some pictures with other people, then the ride was officially over. We made it from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and we did "Every Fantastic Inch" EFI. It was really starting to hit us at that point that our ride across America was over. After the hundreds of pictures at the beach, we rode out with Cindy, Freddy, Joy, Carolyn, good looking Larry, and Don. We all rode together for about 5 miles all the way until we reached a bridge that we crossed over to get into Maine.

When we got into Maine, we took pictures by the sign, then we rode about a mile and a half down the road to make sure we would have enough miles to reach 4000 miles for the whole trip. After we got done with the 3 extra miles, we stopped and ate some ice cream in Maine with those guys that we rode over there with. When we were done there, we went across the bridge, but only half of us got across before the bridge had to go up to let an oil tanker go through. We originally waited for the other, but it was taking awhile and we had to get to the hotel in time to get our bikes to the bike store to get shipped. We rode the rest of the way to the hotel with Joy and we had to stop about a mile short of the hotel to take a picture of an important mile mark. We reached exactly 4000 miles in the middle of an intersection, so we went just past it, and we got Joy to take pictures of us holding up 4 fingers. We made it to 4000 miles for the trip... just barely. We rode the rest of the way to the hotel with Joy, and we let her lead us in because she had to get rid of her bad rap of getting lost. We made it without getting lost to the last hotel of the trip. We checked in, then we brought our bikes around back, loaded them up on Judy's husband's truck, then he took us to the bike shop. We gave our bikes to the bike shop, paid, filled out some order forms, then came back to the hotel. At that point, we realized that our biking was over. It was sad, but at the same time it was weird to think that the trip was over already.

Since this is our last blog entry, we decided to sum up the trip. It has been one of the greatest experiences of both of our lives. This is something that we will never forget, and something we can reminisce about for years to come. We have successfully ridden every miles from coast to coast, reached 4000 miles in 52 days, climbed through the Sierra Nevadas, Rockies, and Appalachians, pace lined our way through crazy head winds, and did it all with the greatest amount of enjoyment. It is amazing how quickly this trip went for us, and it seems like just yesterday we were starting out in San Francisco. We made some very strong relationships with most of the riders, and they are people we will never forget. It was truly more than I could have ever expected, and that is all due to the great people we had the privilege of riding with. Wade said it best when he said, "The saddest part is that we are such good friends with these guys now, yet most of them we'll never see again." It's a sad thing to think about, but that is why the trip was so great. We got into a routine of just waking up, biking, and eating, but now we have to go back to reality. This blog has been a really enjoyable experience, and a great way to share our adventures with you, but to us it was more than just that. This has given us memories to look back on for years to come. It is something we will always have to remember our great adventures and amazing friends. Not many people get to ride across America on their bike, let alone ride with their son. I will cherish forever the time that Wade and I have gotten to spend together over this summer. It is something that will remain in my heart for eternity. Thanks for going on this journey with us.

THE END