Well, Dear Reader, the riding is now over. My apologies for such a delay but, apparently, they do not have cell towers in the ocean and we were without connectivity. Weird that….here we were back in the land of civilization but no internet connectivity. But, I digress.
Yesterday the human and I rode in with the peloton to Rye Beach, New Hampshire. Woot! The ride that day was made to order. A sedate 50-ish miles in rolling terrain through forest and subdivisions. Gorgeous. Quiet. Little traffic. OK, a few steep gradients, but, hey, it was the last day and none were very tall. Just perfect.
We regrouped 3 miles from the beach and road in en masse. One big peloton of cyclists blocking the road. Well, not really, the roads were pretty quiet and the handful of cars got around us just fine. But, it was a culmination of a long trip and the party atmosphere a necessary catharsis. After the obligatory group picture at the beach it was an afternoon of rest and relaxation. Ahhhhh…..well, let me put it this way….the humans had an afternoon of rest and relaxation in the shade, while I sat on the bike rack baking in the sun! Hrrrmpph….really? Couldn’t find a shady spot?
But, then as the trailers were packing up for the long trip back to Sharon, Wisconsin, Edwin and I hopped in to catch a ride while the humans went to the celebratory dinner. As with every PAC Tour, there is a slide show and awards. Multiple riders crossed the 10,000 miles with PAC Tour and two crossed 20,000. Alas, while my human and Edwin’s were acknowledged for 10,000 miles, I, the bicycle that has hauled my sorry excuse for a human rider 10,000 miles with PAC Tour alone was, sigh, not acknowledged. Sob…we work so hard for you humans and, so rarely get a thank you.
Alas, now it is over. We have seen the country from end to end both from the Southern and Northern Tier. Each is unique. Each was worth the trip. Each had high points and low points. But, quite definitely, a trip worth taking.
Travels With Edwina 