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 Friday, June 24th .... Today was the last ride which concluded at Revere Beach in Boston.  We all carried our bikes down to the water's edge and ceremonially dipped our front wheel in the water.  This was similar to the start 49 days earlier when we dipped the rear wheel into the Pacific Ocean.  3400 Miles and it is over! Many friends and family members were there and there were lots of photos taken of everyone celebrating.  I will post more of those pictures as I gather them from others.   I am tired and glad it is done but the full impact of what I have accomplished has yet to settle in and to be fully realized.  I have made many new friends and feel like I am in the best physical shape I have been in many years and accomplished a longed-for weight goal.  I am now at the same weight I was in 1967 when I was discharged from the Air Force - 173 lbs.  That is a number I was unsure I would ever see again.  I was also surprised as I have never eaten as much as I have over the past 49
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 Thursday, June 23 .... Today was the last big push!  We rode 90 miles from Brattleboro, VT to Burlington, MA.  We rode through NH along the way.  We had 11 hills to climb, the longest was three miles.  Most of the hills had grades between 3-11%.  In addition, we had numerous rolling hills thaat had grades of 2-9%.  In addition, we had numerous rolling hills that had grades of 2-9%.  By the end of the day, we climbed 5300 ft.  It made for a slow day.  What is important is I made it!  I was dealing with tired legs but was driven by the knowledge this was my last long ride and Cecilia, Nicole and Easton were waiting for me at the hotel.   The final ride is in the morning when we will ride 17 miles to the Atlantic Ocean for the front tire dip.  It will then be over.....3400 miles by bicycle over 49 days, the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.  We crossed through a great deal of this great country in areas you will never see driving on the interstate highways.  It is amazing to see how m
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 Wednesday, June 22nd ....  We left Troy, NY thinking the weather was going to be ok.  65 degrees increasing to 72 degrees by afternoon.  Little chance of rain but an 8-mph wind on our right shoulder and occasionally in our face. We had seven climbs throughout the day with the longest being 9.8 miles.  The grades on the cllimbs were 4-10%.  The only correct thing was the climbs.  And actually, this turned out to be incorrect too. The weather was cooler from the start.  As we made the initial climbs the temp continued to drop.  By the time we were on top of the climb the temp was 54 degrees, and I was cold.  I had not worn any clothes for the wind, cool temps and overcast sky's light rain and wind.  While climbing I was really uncomfortable.  By the time I was ready for the decent I was so cold I was numb all over!  The decent was 24 mph down hill, no peddling, 8  mph wind in my face and foggy.  I got so cold I could hardly control the bike.  When I saw one of the support vans I cal
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 Tuesday, June 21st .... Today's ride took us to Troy, NY.  It was a long 100-mile ride.  Our route took us along parts of the Erie Canal and to a vista overlooking the rolling Countryside.  We were in some old historical areas of NY.  Many homes along the way had historical markers noting that the home was established in the mid to late 1700's.  In some cases, the homes have been owned and occupied by the same family generation after generation. The last 16 miles of the trip was on a bike trail.  It followed the river and for the most part was in the woods.  It was a beautiful ride.  Tomorrow we will leave NY and ride into the mountains of Vermont.  Ugh!  More climbing!
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 Monday, June 20th .... Today we rode 58 miles from Syracuse to Utica.  We left later as we were going to be arriving at the hotel before the rooms were going to be ready if we remained on the normal schedule.  The scenery was beautiful with some rolling hills that went through a number of small communities.  The route generally followed the route of the Erie Canal.  The next three rides which will bring us to the conclusion of the cross-country ride are thought to be some of the more difficult rides.  Tomorrow is a 100-mile ride with a number of hills and climbs.  The weather is also a little questionable.  We will just take what we get!
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 Sunday, June 19th .... We left Victor, NY this morning and it was 54 degrees, but the sun was shining and the wind was blowing out of the NNW at 8-10 mph.  This was mostly a cross wind but at times it was a help until later in the day when it became a headwind.  We had a number of rolling hills as we climbed.  We went through a small town that had an interesting waterfall.  Shortly after the waterfall we came to a city park that provided a great view of one of the finger lakes in upstate NY.  There are a number of these long skinny lakes, hence the name "finger" lakes.  I'm not sure the photo shows the spectacularly beautiful landscape.  Towards the end of the ride we came to a museum on the Erie Canal.  This point was halfway along the canal.  Then I rode into Syracuse for the night.  Great ride
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 Saturday, June 18th .... Today was a surprise.  Four days ago, we were getting heat warnings and the temp was 94 with high humidity.  This morning when we left Buffalo it was 55 and the wind was out of the NW at 15 mph and the sky was overcast. The ride was good.  It was not too difficult even though we had 3400 ft of climbing.  Most of the hills were short, less than a mile in length but some had spots where the grade hit 10%.  Overall, most hills were in the 3-5% range.  We will see more hills with increasing length over the balance of the ride The big milestone was we crossed the 3000-mile point and have less than 400 miles to go.  It has been a trip I will never forget and has lived up to my expectations.
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