3,178 mi. Total
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| Early start for the last day |
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| Helen at the rest stop |
Our route took us past many highlights of St. Augustine, across the lion bridge and finally into Anastasia State Park to the pavilion where our friends and family were waiting.
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| EFI-Every 'Fabulous' Inch riders |
| Top L-R: Marilyn 54, Brenda 58, Jan 66, May 60 |
| EFI-Every 'Fabulous' Inch riders |
Bottom L-R: Susan 56, Dolly 65, Leilani 60, Ann 58
It was cool and raining so people were hard to identify. Finally I spotted Richard and rode up to him. He asked if I'd recognized anyone else and I hadn't because I'd been looking for him. I was totally shocked when my mother and Lenni and Erwin came walking over.
Then we walked across the beach to dip our front wheels and complete our journey. We took many pictures and had a celebratory picnic in the pavilion which was good because the trip ended as it had begun; an unusually cool & rainy day in a typically warm, sunny locale.
Later that evening there was a lovely banquet at a nearby restaurant for the riders. Two of the three injured riders were able to join us; Bell had arrived in Palatka, and Nancy surprised us all at the park. Pat had been hoping to come but it just wasn't good timing for her arm.
Its hard to sum it up but I'll say it was a great trip; we rode many long hard days through hot & cold & wind, on some dangerous, miserable roads and some quiet, scenic, pleasant ones as well. We learned that we can do more than we'd thought.
We talked, listened, laughed, and learned a lot about one another; like pealing an onion, mile by mile, day by day, we became closer and formed close friendships.
For two months we were in "Bike World" where almost every waking hour was focused on riding and getting us and our bicycles prepared for the next ride. No one would believe how we spent our precious little free time cleaning, adjusting, repairing our bikes, washing clothing, writing blogs, and triple checking weather and wind direction (almost always out of the east to our dismay).
When I look at the US map and realize how far we rode I am still amazed. I am thrilled that I had the opportunity and the strength to have done it, but I'm ready to be done and am looking forward to going home.
