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Day 49
Climbs...what climbs?

ROUTE: Brattleboro VT to Manchester NH DISTANCE:  79 Miles WINDS: NW 5-10
WEATHER: Beautiful...79 degrees and sunny...no humidity TERRAIN: Hilly most of the day TOTAL CLIMBING:  5100 feet

DAILY REPORT: I'm sorry for the delay in posting the final days.  Our schedule has been pretty packed over the past 3 days and even the president only has 24 hours in a day.  With the ride, end of ride logistics, and final banquet, I just didn't have time to drag out my computer to do a report.  I'm sitting in our van driving home in a pouring rain as I type the final pages.  Yes...it's pouring.  I guess the weather gods were finally glad to get us off the road so they could refresh the New England foliage.  Again, sorry for the delay...here's the report.

The theme of today was, "Going up."  If the riders liked the climbing yesterday, they'll love today.  It was only 1 mile from the motel when the road started to go up at the New Hampshire state line...our final state on this trip.  It's hard to believe we've traveled all the way across the nation and are only a couple days from our journey's end.  It seems just like yesterday we left Astoria as a group of strangers and now we are about to finish.  Some people think it's a long way from Oregon to New Hampshire...actually, to us it's only a bike ride. 

I think the riders have been thinking about today ever since we got over the Continental Divide.  Today was scheduled to be our biggest altitude gain since leaving Astoria...and some of the hills are pretty steep.  I am always amazed at how much stronger everybody has become since we left Astoria.  I would say that most of these people wouldn't have been able to climb a couple of the climbs today when we started this ride.  Now they have legs of steel and lungs to match.  It's been fun to watch them get stronger throughout the ride.

Last night at rap I gave the riders some good news, however.  I drove out just before rap and changed the route to avoid a 20%  climb on Sullivan Rd and another long climb up Pitcher's Mountain.  The change also eliminated about a mile of descending dirt road that we've grown to love over the years.  The road over Sullivan is a great climb, but the road is getting pretty weather worn and really bumpy.  I made the late command decision to change the route to follow hwy 9 all the way to our SAG.  The detour also made the route today about 8 miles shorter.  Now let's review...8 less miles, 1500 feet less climbing, smoother pavement...sounded like a win, win, win to me.  As it worked out, it allowed everyone to get in early enough to have a little time before dinner to relax and start their celebrations.  That made it a win, win, win, WIN. 

Our route today basically was hwy 9 to Keene and highway 31 about 20 miles farther down route.  From there we hit more back roads to Bennington and Francestown through rolling to hilly terrain.  Right out of Keene we popped out in the country for about 4 miles that included a 12% climb just to warm us up for the hills to follow.  Our last challenge was Joe English, a 15% pop up for about 3 quarters of a mile then it was up and down on shorter rollers all the way to Manchester. 

Karen and I left the motel after everyone since I was pulling sweep duty today.  That allowed us to take our time while pushing up the climbs.  It was nice to mosey up the hills rather than hammer.  We bounced along the rear of the pack until the second SAG at 54 miles and then pushed the final miles to the motel.  After the easy efforts early in the day, pushing the final hills was a snap and almost made me wish I was still competing.  I was amazed at how easy the last 15% climb was on Joe English...maybe I've gotten a little stronger too.

By the time I got to the motel, all but a few riders had already showered and were scattered to the far corners of Manchester.  The motel had set up a bike cleaning station just outside the lobby which was well utilized by the group...the bikes would be shiny on the way to the beach.  I had to shower, prepare for our last rap to cover final logistics, prepare for the banquet, and help Jim with maintenance before dinner only 2 hours after I got off my bike.  I don't know what I'm going to do with all that time after the ride is over...maybe I'll take a nap.  With that, I'm sure you can understand why I didn't feel like composing and posting a web page after the banquet finished just after 10:00.

Our final dinner is our salute to the riders and the ride.  It was a chance for everyone to express their feelings about the ride and put a closure to the event.  Emotions ran high as riders shared their thoughts and performed a couple skits that really were entertaining...America Has Talent wasn't in attendance so the riders will not get their chance to go nationally, but I'm not sure anyone else outside our room would have understood.  A song highlighting the events of the ride by Mike M and Joel, Bill's mock interview with a news reporter, and a high energy Veggie Tales song recapping the ride by Cindy, Colleen, and Jean were enjoyed by everyone and really pointed out some of our little quirks and events that made the ride special.

After the banquet, we were pretty wound up, but tomorrow awaits.  One more day to focus on safely negotiating the roadways to the Atlantic.  Reluctantly, the riders have come to the realization the ride is all but complete...only 50 more miles...I think we can smell the beach from here.  Tomorrow we do it for the last time...check in and see how we do. 

DID I REALLY SAY THAT?:

"When I get home, the first words I'm going to say are, "Woman, do my laundry."
"Yeah, and the next thing you'll say is 'Ouch.'"

"After riding through the midwest, I have a better appreciation for farmers."

"I started biking to get away from people...so I joined a group to ride across America."

"Rich deserves the Pee body award...no corn stalk will go unwatered."

"If there were no hills, no one would ride bikes."

 DID I REALLY SAY THAT 2?:

"We climbed 4300 feet today...or is that calories we burned?"

"When we got to the top of Joe English, I was wondering where the hill was that Mike was talking about."

"I only climbed the 20% Sullivan climb because the girls did."

"Arrows, I don't need to follow the arrows, I have something better than arrows...I follow Cindy."

"What would you try if you knew you couldn't fail?"

DID I REALLY SEE THAT?

Now we know why Cindy rides so fast...she had a tiger on her trunk.

If you could bottle the positive energy these 3 put out every day you could light the world for a month.  Their lively recap of the ride in song was enjoyed by all.

Earnst was presented with a functional clothesline so he can continue to pursue  his new found talent of doing laundry when he gets home. 

A common sight in New England...beautiful churches.

Another common sight...beautiful cemeteries.   This one had stones dating back to the 1600s.

Adorned with his helmet mounted dual disposable cameras, Bill eloquently recapped the highlights of our ride that left Costa Mesa California (?) and rode through blistering heat, punishing headwinds, and oppressive humidity, insurmountable hills and a few other 'H' words to local news reporter Lois Lane.  Was he really talking about this ride? 

Decisions, decisions...what bike should I ride today?  My climbing bike?  My flatland bike, or my rain bike?  

We didn't have a "DID I REALLY DO THAT" column today but we should have...Daco was embarrassed to ask Karen for a new route sheet since he'd lost his somewhere...he was even more embarrassed when he found his lost one in his jersey pocket later in the day.

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