The final day, the final blog

Today is day 50 and the final day of the Bike Across America ride.  We rode 51 miles from Manchester to Wallis Sands beach in Rye, NH.  It was a pretty easy day to ride and everyone was pretty relaxed and enjoying the accomplishment of riding their bike across the country.  We were due to be at Rye Junior High at 1130 so we had plenty of time to get there.  We rode through Exeter, NH and everyone stopped at a bakery to get something to eat and kill some time.  Then it was on to the junior high to finish the ride.  Lots of pictures were taken.  First it was the riders over 60 years of age and then the ones who were over 70 years of age.  There was also a group picture taken of all of the foreign riders.  A group picture finished the picture taking time and then it was time for our police escort to the beach for the final three miles of our journey.  It was really neat to have the road to ourselves and not worry about traffic or anything else for those final three miles.  We were led into the beach by Terry who inspired everyone during the ride.  The accomplishment finally hit me when I viewed the ocean.  I thought back to our start in Astoria and there was some symmetry in that a light rain was falling similar to the day we rode to the Pacific.  We walked to the beach with  our bikes and dipped our front tires in the Atlantic to complete the symbolism of the rear tires in the Pacific and the front tire in the Atlantic.  An announcement was made over the speaker system at the beach of the accomplishment and the people on the beach gave us a hand.  Lots of family and friends on hand to greet the riders.  Katy, and the kids, Shawn, Brendan, and Bridgette were there to greet me along with my brother Bernie.  Thanks to all of them for showing up and supporting me.  Then it was more picture taking and hugs as we all realized that the journey had ended and we would be going our separate ways.  We would always have the shared experience and the memories of what we had done.  The final thing we did was empty the bottle of water that was taken from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic Ocean.  This was done by Terry, our oldest rider, and Sharon, who had overcome the most in completing the ride.  Then it was pretty much over.  Some people rode back to the hotel, some wanted to get another state under their belt and went into Maine and others took a van ride or went with friends or relatives.  It was a real learning experience for me and a privilege to ride with all the other cyclists.  This is the final blog.  Thank you to all of you that bothered to read this and offered their support during the ride.  There were times when I didn't believe that I would be able to finish the ride but I did and as much as I missed being away from home and seeing my family, I am glad I did the ride, met the people, and saw some amazing things that I will never forget.