Day 52, Tuesday July 26, 2005
CROSS COUNTRY CHALLENGE 2005
WHEEL DIPPING CEREMONY
LOBSTER DINNER
FINAL GOODBYES
Today was the last day of the 2005 Cross Country Challenge ride. This ride was over 3800 miles, and started in San Francisco, CA and went to Portsmouth, NH. It was a 52-day ride which was divided into six sections with rest days in Salt Lake City, UT; Pueblo, CO; St. Joseph, MO; Indianapolis, IN and Erie, PA. The reason that I did not do the entire ride this year is that I have done the sections from St. Joseph, MO to Portsmouth, NH in previous years (1999 and 2000).
The ride was truly a challenge. Riders encountered freezing cold temperatures climbing Donner Pass in CA to temperatures of over 100 degrees in the high plains of the mid-west. Actually, the morning we climbed to Donner Pass (CA), it had snowed. It had changed to rain and had been raining for the entire climb. We were all very cold. The next day we climbed Mt. Rose (NV) and again it snowed in the early morning prior to us reaching the summit but some snow was still on the ground so I built a snowman (see June 9). George and Jay got caught in a hail storm (mothball-sized) just as they arrived at the hotel in Lamar, CO. (see June 26). Three other riders: Neil, Tina and Kathryn, escaped the hail storm in the safety of one of the ABB support vehicles.
There were many difficult climbs with grades sometimes as high as 18%. We would often encounter headwinds when traveling through winding canyons. One day I recall cycling with Georgia when the wind was so strong, we were going downhill with a very strong headwind and we could only manage to go 5 - 6 mph. Cyclists don't usually encounter strong headwinds going down hill, but it happened this day. It was a real joy when Jim met us at the end of the canyon with ice cream and strawberries (see June 18).
This journal entry highlights a few of the many memories that the cyclists had. We had many rewarding experiences along the way. All the good and challenging go together to make this cross country ride a cycling challenge. I was glad to join my fellow cyclists today for the ceremonial wheel-dipping of the front wheels of our bicycles into the Atlantic Ocean. (see pics below) (We had dipped our rear wheels into the Pacific Ocean on the first day.) Later in the evening the group enjoyed a lobster dinner at Warren's in Kittery, ME. Final goodbyes were exchanged and it was great to see everyone and their families. The only regret was that Donna and I had left Vivian, the Alzheimer's bear, at home. (See pics in rocking chair - Vivian, my dog Foxy Lady and Foxy's baby)
Douglas Torosian, President of America By Bicycle (ABB) can certainly be proud of his talented cycling support staff. I mentioned this before, and I don't mind saying it again, I highly recommend ABB to any cyclist who is thinking about a long-distance cycling adventure. I am looking forward to my eighth consecutive annual ride next summer with ABB (route yet to be determined).
Hope to see you all on a future ABB ride!
Best regards, John Clark
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