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...

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.

Bottom of switchbacks after VA border "summit"

Day 18 - Elkins W VA to Orange VA

Day 18 - Holy Crap

Brutal just brutal. We left Elkins W VA at 6:00am this morning. I had a flat in the parking lot just before take off. Not a good start to the day. It was very foggy and we immediately starting climbing. The first rest stop was 18 miles down the road followed by another at mile 34 due to the early climbs. We ended up climbing at least 15,000 feet today. Four mountains. Much worse than the Rockies. It was a bear of a day. The descents were heaven after crawling up the mountains. We covered 167 miles. With rest stops it took us just under 13 hours. Long day. Very long day. My bike is feeling the effects of the 3000 miles. Derailler issues and a stretched out chain. Hopefully it will make it the last 143 miles tomorrow. Just one more day and I'm done. So tired so very tired.

We head out tomorrow at 6:00 for the final phase of our journey.

West Virginia

Day 17 - Athens OH to Elkins W VA

We left Athens this morning at 6am and headed to West Virginia. We left in three separate groups to keep the packs small. The first group was moving fast. I rode with the second group consisting of Jon, Len, Rob and Max for the first 25 miles until Jon flatted. The shoulder of the road was littered with glass and debris. I stopped while everyone else kept going. A couple of riders passed and asked if we needed help, but never slowed to assist. Oh well, guess everyone was in a hurry this morning. With the flat fixed we started out again only to flat again within 5 miles. It was going to be a day I could tell. The first rest stop was at 34 miles where Jon restocked with tubes and used the floor pump to top off his tire. John Newton pulled up at the stop and restocked with tubes as well. He too had a flat. By this time we were at the end of the pack, but just wanted to make it through the day and cover the miles. Jon and I ventured on through Parkersburg. The route was a mess to follow due to traffic pattern changes but we made it to the bridge and crossed over into West Virginia. The vistas were beautiful.

We had a lot of climbing today. The cue sheet said 12,000 feet, but it ended up being less. Still tiring and my quads and knees were squealing. Once again Jon and I took a wrong turn and did 6 bonus miles. We weren't the only riders to miss the detour sign, but still had to climb back to the main road. The time we made up was lost. When we arrived at the lunch stop, Susan made me chocolate milk and all was good. John Newton arrived as he had another flat earlier. Jon and I waited for him to eat and the three of us rode the remaining 66 miles together. The last 30 miles was awful. The road shoulder surface was a mixture of one quarter asphalt and three quarters gravel. I was just about ready to ride on the white line of the highway as car bait to get off the bumpy surface.

We finished around 5 or 5:30. Tracey, one of the crew met me with a cup of chocolate milk and Susan gave me the remaining jug to carry to my room. They take very good care of me.

Two days left. Tomorrow will be a tough day. Climbing in the beginning and the end. Rumor has it there is a scary decent around mile 40-45. One of the crew has ridden the route in the past and crashed so I am of course nervous.

Keep safe thoughts. We arrive in Virginia tomorrow.