I can't believe the tour is over and we've ridden our last mile together as a cycling family.
We stared the day with a staggered start. Michelle and I set off on the 13 mile ride at 7:18 am. At mile 13, we assembled as a group to ride the final 4 miles to Revere beach.
As we came over the final rise and the finish line was in view, all sorts of emotions started flowing. We could see our dear friends Jay and Lauri Bounty, my sister Nancy, our daughter Sarah and her husband Mike and daughters Spencer and Graysen and our future daughter-in-law Heather cheering us on. We love you all for your support during this unbelievable journey and I am so thankful that you came to Boston to celebrate the conclusion of this epic trip that Michelle and I started on May 11th.
I wish Michelle could have completed the entire distance with me but riding the last 8 days together and finishing side by side partially made up for the time we spent apart.
We ceremoniously dipped our FRONT wheels in the Atlantic Ocean and headed back to the hotel to clean up and gather for a family lunch. As we waited to be seated I said to Jay "that guy looks like Dirk" and in fact it was, along with Brooke, Sonia, Lynn and James. I am so appreciative that each of you took the time and made the effort to come celebrate with me. I will never forget their thoughtfulness.
After saying goodbye to the MB SPORT team, I received my second surprise of the day. Our dear friend and 2013 rider (at age 77) arrived to share in our evening celebration and award ceremony. I noted the previous night in my summary speech that when I saw Sherman again, I hadn't decided whether to hug him or punch him for sending me on this adventure.
The evening of celebration ended, we said our farewells and headed home to New Canaan to sleep in our own bed for the first time in 50 days. It's good to be home but we will miss our riding family and the friendships that have developed over the past 7 weeks.
More to come........
Best,
Michael & Michelle
No comments:
Post a Comment