DAILY DOINGS: Just a short note to wrap up this ride.  As I'm sitting in the van on our way to Alabama, I look forward to a couple months off to pursue my other passion...golf.  But as the ride comes to an end, I know I'll miss the routine of the road and will be ready to get back on the road when the time comes.  Usually after finishing a ride we are pretty tired, but this ride energized us somehow.  Where else in the country could we have seen so much beauty and when else could we have had such a great group of riders to work with?  Not to mention all the alumni who took the time to stop by and say hello somewhere along the way.  All in all, this has been a great experience.

The night before last we had our official final dinner.  Everyone got to share their thoughts with the group and say their initial good byes.  As I sat back and listened to the comments, it seemed to me that everyone thought it was a ride well worth the effort.  All commented on the scenery and the support while some seemed to have had a spiritual experience somewhere along the way.  I thought the highlight was David Thompson explaining the Ellen Anding Bike Brain Syndrome...being so involved in the ride that time and space just didn't matter. 

I don't know if this was an exceptional group that just came together and enjoyed a wonderful ride or if it was a group that was made exceptional by the ride itself.  Either way, we (the staff) really enjoyed being around this group of individuals.  Everyone, unique in their own way, took something positive from this ride and will cherish the memories of their Ride The West family.

The magnificent Oregon coastline, the majestic Redwoods, the beautiful scenery along the California wine country, and the perfect weather the entire trip all played a role in making this an unforgettable ride.  Not to mention the 76,000 feet of climbing, the zooming descents, and the 111 mile day with 7200 feet of climbing which were all memorable by themselves.  Everyone came away from this ride with something different but all were inspired by the beauty and the challenge of the route.  I know I'll never forget the rugged shoreline of the Oregon coast.  When I crossed Oregon for the first time on the North ride, I thought Oregon was one of the most beautiful states I'd ridden in, but now after seeing the coast, I'm sure of it.  I wish I could just bottle this ride up and take it home.

This closes another great ABB adventure.  I'd like to publicly thank the staff (Barb, Karen, and Gerard) for all their hard work to make this a memorable trip.  I'd like to thank the riders for their great attitude and flexibility which made our job even more enjoyable.  Oh yeah, I'll bet all you who've ridden with us before are wondering who got the progress map...I almost forgot to say.  At our banquet, we awarded the map to John Clark who has ridden with us for the last 9 years, was the oldest rider, and had just completed his first full ride from start to finish.  He's always done portions every year and the one year he planned to do the whole Mississippi Ride at one time it was interrupted by Hurricane Ivan.  Congrats John...hope you can find another leg to ride with us next season.

Well, another ride is in the history books.  The sun is rising over the horizon in front of us as we drive eastward and as we say good bye to the left coast.  We have a long way to go before home and returning the equipment to New Hampshire.  I hope you've enjoyed reading of our adventures as much as we've enjoyed bringing them to you.  On behalf of Doug Torosian the owner and president of ABB, the on road staff, and the ABB office staff personnel, I want to thank you for following our rides this season and hope that someday you'll come ride with us and see for yourself that there's no better way to see the country than from the seat of a bicycle.

PS:  I want to thank the riders who didn't lynch me for all the fun we made of them on the website...the I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT (ICBIDT) section in particular.  It's all meant to be fun and no malice was meant nor was it meant to embarrass anyone.  It's good we can all laugh at ourselves when we get out of our normal element.  To the public, the ICBIDTs were mostly based on something happening, but I'll admit I used a little freedom explaining some of the situations.  Thanks riders for supplying us all with a little humor...we all pull some great ICBIDTs occasionally.  Hope to see you next season.