Epilogue

Well, we're done. You'd think that after six weeks (it took us exactly 42 days) of biking the finale would be more satisfying. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to reach our goal; however, there was also a part of me that felt a little melancholy. As I've said before, the lifestyle of bicycle touring is a blast. You wake up, get on the bike, and go. You're a wanderer on wheels.

So let me give you the details on the last few days of our ride. From Marion, we hit Wytheville, where a multitude of friends and family met us, and a couple joined us for the last leg of our journey. Lee's parents and his brother, Adam, our friend Josh and his mother, and a childhood friend of mine, Chad, all converged on the city. Chad and Adam became participants in our biking fun for a few days (Chad for two days and Adam finished with us).

We set out from Wytheville with our new companions, now, instead of a measly three cyclists, a staggering five. We were more like a gang than tourers. From Wytheville to Lexington, our ride consisted almost solely of country roads, and it was some of the most enjoyable terrain of the trip. Our last climb of the trip took place on July 4th as we climbed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way to Charlottesville. We spent the 4th in Charlottesville, and on the 5th made our 126 mile push to Washington D.C. But hey, what would our final day be without some bicycle trouble?

About 30 miles into the day, Lee's gear cable for his rear derailleur broke. In other words, Lee could not shift out of his highest rear gear, which makes any hill difficult to climb. Instead of being able to enjoyably shift down and easily pedal up the hill, he had to stay in the high gear, and pump up the hill standing on his bike and putting all his energy into it. Sure, it made him move up the hills at a nice little clip, but it's an incredibly tiresome way to ride. Well, luckily the terrain was not too hilly, so he was able to limp it in to a bike shop in Fredericksburg. We rode from Fredericksburg to D.C. on Route 1 and made it across the Potomac and into the city at sunset...our journey complete.

That was Monday, the 5th, and now it's Saturday. I'm sorry for the delay, but laziness got the better part of me. So what's happened since our finish? The Herald Dispatch in Huntington did a story on us, front page I might add. Adjusting to normal life has not been too difficult, but it hasn't been too easy either. Now instead of being happily unaware of Lebron's Decision, the oil spill, and the economy, it's all you hear about. Well, c'est la vie (I speak French in Russian).

As is probably readily apparent, adventure's like this are as much about the journey as they are about the accomplishment. The stories you hear and share, the people you meet, and the places you stay along the way are as important as the place you end up. The nice thing about cycling is that it forces you to slow down. When we remove ourselves out of the rat race we call life, it's amazing what you see. I'm gonna be honest, there are tons of ways to do this, cross country bicycle journeys is only one (and an extreme one at that). Chill under a tree or on a bench or walk in the woods and take a second to enjoy the places in between.

So I guess if this were a book, this post would be the epilogue, so that's my title. I will try and link some more pictures to this page, but this is the last post. I'd like to thank all of you that have been following us on here and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. You're comments have been encouraging and hopefully reading this hasn't been too much of a drag.