Saturday, June 5, 2010

Saturday June 5 - After one hour bike ride

Home again home again jigity jig

I am back home in Raleigh NC. Hooray! I dropped my bike off with my mechanic Gary with TLC on my way into town. I told him to check her over and do whatever was necessary to make her well. My trusty Trek never let me down.

It feels odd not to be riding my bike all day today. Just an hour of noodling on the flats today. Whatever will I do with my time? I suppose unpacking, laundry, food shopping and errands are on the to do list today.

I'm not sure what the next adventure will be. Too soon to pick anything right now. There are several brevets this summer that have my eye, but I haven't looked beyond that. Any ideas?

Again I want to thank everyone for their support before during and after this ride. It was great catching up with Walt, Carla and their two children Holly and Joshua in St Louis after many years. And thank you Carol for coming to Williamsburg to meet us at the end of our adventure. Everyone was so excited when they heard you were going to be there.

Elite was an experience I will never forget. If you are willing to suffer on a daily basis, this ride is for you. The days were long, the weather unpredictable and the terrain ever changing.

Until next time...

Friday, June 4, 2010

Last day

Day 19 is DONE! Woo Hoo!

It's over. Hallelujah! We finished yesterday around 3:30. It was a nice day of riding. Everyone strolled the 141 miles from Orange to Williamsburg. This was by far the hardest thing I've ever done. There were many days I wasn't sure I'd be able to get through, but I perservered. My will is strong and I think that's what got me through. Plus the constant support and encouragement I got from all of you. The texts, phone calls and mail were awesome.

We had a farewell dinner last night. There was a slideshow followed by a presentation of plaques and awards. Those of us that rode every mile without being sagged are now RAAM qualified (Race Across America). A few of us qualified before so this made it double sweet (Randy from VA, Andrew from Australia and myself).

Now it's time to go home. I'll be leaving for Newport News soon to pick up my rental car and then bound for Raleigh. Hooray! Got to get off that 8,000 calorie a day diet starting today. I won't be riding mega miles for awhile.

More to follow.