Last Day--Tomorrow

We are in Maine tonight and saw our first sign indicating that Portland is less than a 100 miles away. So after riding more than 4000 miles, we are closing in on the goal we set so long ago: to dip our front wheels in the Atlantic Ocean. I've been trying to get in touch with what I'm feeling about finishing and thought I would share those reflections in my blog today.

The first thing that comes to mind is gratitude and the list of things that I'm grateful for is long. Most and most importantly, I am grateful for Cindy and Kathy who have given themselves totally the past two months to support this Ride Against Hunger. Joe and I get alot of credit for doing the ride, but they have done so much work to make the ride possible, easier and safer.

I'm also grateful for my riding buddy, Joe. We have stayed together almost every mile of the trip. We've supported each other, watched out for one another, and have respected the differences between us. We have very different skills. I'm more the bike geek/mechanic. Joe pays attention to the detail of what roads we should be on al all times. He uses road maps as well as the Map My Ride cue sheets. Several times, Map My Ride was wrong, and his checking has saved us many hours of being lost or riding off in the wrong direction. I will never forget this time of riding with Joe whom I now call Joe Awesome Man rather than Joe Ossmann.

I'm also grateful for all the words of encouragement and support that has come from family, friends, blog followers and contributors to the Ride Against Hunger. I will report at a later time how much has been raised. Whatever it is, I will be grateful and know that it is a drop in the bucket to what is needed to really end hunger in our world. I've tried to balance the blog with some information about our ride and some about hunger. I hope I wasn't too heavy handed in my encouragement for you to contribute to ending hunger.

And frankly, I am grateful to God. I'm not sure why or how I've been blessed with the good health to be able to do a ride like this, but I know it isn't because I've been "good". It is a gift that I acknowledge and appreciate. I wish I could tell you the number of days that we have looked at the weather report and found that the wind was blowing our direction. I don't believe that God did that for us, because if that were the case, all those riders going the other way were getting a bum deal. But when the wind was at our backs, we just kept saying, we are blessed and we are grateful...and when it was in our faces, we tried not to whine too much.

And finally, I am grateful for good fortune. We just learned of a California cyclist who was killed two days ago in Quebec. I'm not sure where he was from, but it could easily have been one of us. But here we are, a day away from finishing, and I have not fallen nor have I had a flat. (LOUD LOUD KNOCKING ON WOOD SOUND HERE). That is pretty astounding. My old 1984 Trek 520 will have an honored place in my garage. It has become my good friend, one that I have tried to treat with respect and care.

In addition to being grateful, I am feeling a sense of accomplishment. When we think back on May 27th and our start in San Francisco, it almost seemed impossible that we could, by pedaling our bikes, make it across the continent. That day in SF seems both like an eternity ago and also like it was just yesterday. The ride has gone quickly even though it sometimes felt like it would never end. But here we are, on the threshold of finishing. The accomplishment is such that I feel like walking up to strangers and just working into the conversation that I just rode my bike across the country. I'll try not to be too obnoxious about this, but it feels like a big deal this afternoon.

The final feeling is one of relief. It has been hard and some days very hard to do this. My body feels on the one hand like I've never been in this kind of riding condition; but on the other hand, that I am tired and need not one day, but several days off. That will happen starting tomorrow after about 3 p.m..and continue as we drive back across the country to our wonderful home in Sacramento.

So, gratitude, accomplishment and relief. Those are the emotions of the day. I'm sure others will come as I reflect on the trip. Tomorrow (or Sunday) I will complete the story and post my last blog. Thanks for checking in on the ride once in a while. I'd love to hear from you your reflections on the ride. Send them to richowlman@gmail.com. OK?