Days 39 and 40

Our two last days - one long, one short - destination Atlantic Ocean somewhere around Charleston, SC.

We rode 112 miles at an average of 19 mph on day 39 - and this seemed like a low to moderate pace to me. What the hell happened to my sense of speed and distance? Riding with Joseph and Jeff over the past 40 days has taught me that I can do 100+ miles at around 20 mph and still live to fight the next day - its a pretty amazing shift in the way I see my riding. We ended in Summerville at a beautiful place called the Middleton Inn, where we had probably our best group dinner, though we missed Joseph who "snuck out" to visit Chiyo in Charleston. As always lately, we missed Dana (who just found out that she may have broken her right hand as well as her left elbow) and Britt.

Once we knew we had survived Day 39, our last riding day beckoned. Actually, it was a great day, but not really a riding day. I didn't bother wearing my heart monitor and never raised a sweat as we cruised 32 miles through historic Charleston enroute to the Wild Dunes resort and the ocean. Friends, family and champagne greeted us (I had asked the Trek team to line up some tourists to cheer for me when we arrived but they couldn't make it happen!). I missed having Sara here, but get to see her in Dallas tomorrow for a weekend at the Four Seasons (Andy has two games there this weekend), so I can't complain too much.

We then dipped our wheels in the Atlantic and the trek/adventure/ordeal was over! Everyone had cause to celebrate. The four members of Team EFI (myself, Bill, Joseph and Jeff) had managed to dodge sickness, accident and exhaustion to ride every pedal stroke of our 3270 miles. Bill turns 65 tomorrow and is incredibly inspirational to the rest of us younger lads. William managed to ride almost all of those miles, despite a huge pile up, bloody face and banged up body. He had trained less than the rest of us, but no one persevered like he did. Brian and Diana were sidelined at times with all of those things that Team EFI missed - sickness, saddle sores, asthma, sore knees and sheer exhaustion - yet they struggled through it all - together all the way - and got here in style.

So, it's done, and there are a few special things to be thankful for:
- Sara not vetoing my trip right at the start (you really could have you know), and not killing me as I made her live through all of those 100 mile training rides. Thanks - I love you.
- Jeff and Joseph, who pulled me when I needed pulling, and who taught me how to ride faster than I thought I could for longer than I thought I could. Thanks - I couldn't have asked for two better, stronger riding partners and friends. This ride wouldn't have been remotely as much fun without the pair of you.
- Dave, Karl, Marquette and Tara - our Trek guide crew - who did their jobs incredibly well every step of the way. More importantly, they made this trip fun, every step of the way. Dave with his relaxed style and bad jokes. Marquette hitting the unruly "kids" and joining in as one of us. Tara with that twisted sense of humor that always left you guessing. Karl, with that infectious enthusiasm that makes him an absolute joy to be around. You guys made this ride what it was - thanks.
- Britt and Dana, who I came to know while training for the ride, but only came to fully appreciate during the ride. Your presence was a big part of this ride for all of us, and I hope this is the start of many (shorter) rides together in the hills of Marin.
- All of my friends for their words of encouragement, before and during the ride. Yes, they always started the sentence with "you are nuts...", but I felt the love!
- Scott and Studio Velo, for talking me into that bike. I crossed the country with 1 flat tire and 1 chain replacement! Independent and tubeless tires forever! Thanks guys - things could not have gone more smoothly.

And thanks legs - I calculate 3270 miles, about 200 hours of cycling and somewhere around 1 million pedal strokes - you can take a break now!