Day 68 – Blessed Beyond Measure – No Doubt About It

I awoke this morning excited to bike the last thirty miles of this journey.  I took my time with everything: a little longer than usual getting ready, a little longer than usual eating breakfast, a little longer than usual prepping my bike.  In retrospect I suppose I was just savoring the moment.  The first seven miles of today’s ride were on a beautiful designated bike trail.  I took it slow and easy.  All was perfect.

Then my perfect world turned imperfect.  The majority of the last thirteen miles of the ride is on Colonial Parkway.  Sounds like a peaceful road, doesn’t it?  It was one of the bumpier roads of the trip and it was the busiest two-lane no-shoulder road I have been on in weeks.  Cars were zooming by fast and constant.  All focus went from savoring the moment to dealing with traffic.  And then it started raining – not a hard rain but enough to get me wet.  I increased my speed in hopes of beating any potential hard rain.   I started bumming about the situation.  This was all supposed to be perfect.

Somewhere in the midst of all that distraction, I took a deep breath, relaxed, and then I smiled.  I had just been given a poignant reminder: this was never about the last day, never about the end.   It has always been about the journey.  Sometimes we forget: it’s about the journey!  With two miles left, the rain stopped and I turned on to a different road.  One with a lot less stress.

As I biked toward the Atlantic Ocean I saw Jill waving me to my spot.  Someone was with her.  Who is that?  I was about a block away when I realized it was Jay, Lacey, Jon, and Taylor.  They had come to join Jill and me for this final step of my journey.  What a wonderful surprise.  Emotion rushed over me.  As I pulled up to them and they cheered me on I was overwhelmed.  They walked the final block to the Atlantic Ocean as I ceremoniously rode my bike to the beach and dunked my front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean; thereby completing the trek that started 4,064 miles ago when I dipped my back tire in the Pacific Ocean.  I have truly biked from coast to coast.  Completing that feat surrounded by family - there is absolutely no doubt about it – I am truly Blessed Beyond Measure.

This final day I biked 29.7 miles from a point west of Jamestown, VA to the Atlantic Ocean.  The specific spot was within a block of the Yorktown Victory Monument in Yorktown, VA.  It was there I symbolically dipped my front wheel into the mouth of the York River, as it flows into the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  Although this particular journey is over, I am not quite done blogging yet.  I plan to write two more blogs: tomorrow I will provide some final statistics and facts, and on Sunday I will provide my reflections on this journey.

The day started with seven miles of beautiful bike trail.

For several miles my ride took me along side the James River

Taylor, Jay, Lacey, and Jon completely surprise me.
Love the signs!

The entire family - there to witness the completion of my journey.
I am overwhelmed to have them there - Thank You!

Dipping the front tire in the Atlantic Ocean

4,064 Miles!