A Bittersweet Ending

Blacksburg, VA

With mixed feelings, Alex and I ended our summer bicycle adventure yesterday (Wednesday). We were on the road for 54 days and 3522 miles on our journey from Seaside, OR to Danville, KY.

It was our original goal to ride directly from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, but that was revised when Alex decided to attend graduate school at North Carolina State and needed to be in Raleigh, NC by August 15. We revised this goal once again last week, when we realized that the mileage we were doing was not going to be adequate to get us to Raleigh by August 15. We instead wanted to make it to the state of North Carolina. However, luck or the bicycle gods were not with us this week. Upon entering Kentucky on Monday, we were constantly being challenged by the weather and other riding conditions. We rode Monday and Tuesday in heat over 100 deg (the actual temperature, not even the heat index!), humidity, and either a headwind or no wind at all (which is sometimes even worse than a headwind, as the wind helps you cool down when you are riding). Additionally, we encountered some of the steepest and most numerous hills of the trip. I hate to admit it, but I had to walk my bike up a hill on Tuesday. We did the hardest 50 mile ride of the trip on Tuesday when we rode from Shelbyville to Harrodsburg.

These things combined were making riding miserable, and we felt no reason to torture ourselves. Riding was no longer fun for us, and the point of this trip was to have a fun and crazy adventure. The decision to end the trip was not made lightly.

Although there was no fanfare or sense of closure at ending the ride, we were at least able to end it on a very positive note that seemed to characterize the entire trip. The friendliness of complete strangers and their willingness to assist us once again came to our rescue! We made the decision to end the trip in Harrodsburg on Wednesday morning and then set about the complicated task of working out the logistics. We found out that our friend Katie (who we are living with once we get to Raleigh) is out of the country until Sunday and therefore we would not be able to immediately go to Raleigh. After many phone calls and text messages, we found a way to end our trip. We found a car rental place in Danville, Kentucky, about 10 miles away. We decided to rent a car and make our way to Blacksburg, Virginia, where Alex and I have a mutual friend, Jeff. Jeff was willing to let us stay with him for a few days until we figured out how to get to Raleigh. However, the Enterprise car rental place in Danville did not have any vehicles that would carry our cargo available and they put us on a waiting list. We decided to ride to Danville anyway and talk to them in person. After arriving there, they still did not have anything available, and we decided to go to a nearby deli for lunch and to wait for a reply from Enterprise. After waiting for an hour or so, a couple came into the deli that seemed interested in our bikes and came to talk to us. We told them our story and how we had decided to end the trip that same day, but how we couldn't get a car at the rental place. The man whipped out his phone and called Enterprise. Next thing I know, we have a car that can fit our things and they even waived the normal fee for crossing state lines! Turns out the man was the lawyer in town and happened to be a bicyclist himself and have an entire family that also bicycles! He also offered us a place to stay when we come back to Danville to finish our trip!

I have continually been amazed at the many ways that people have helped us along the way. There have been friends and family that have gone out of their way to give us a hand. Thank you to:
-Both of our families, who have done numerous favors for us and been there for us in any way possible!
-My mom, for maintaining this blog through pictures and text messages from me
-David, my friend in Portland who let us stay with him for a few days, showed us around Portland, and then drove us to the coast
-Ashli, a good friend from Iowa State, who let us stay in her new house in Dubuque when she wasn't even there
-Jeff, who took us in without any notice and is letting us crash at his place for a few days in Blacksburg, Va
-All of our friends and family who have come to visit us at some point during our journey

There have been people we met along the way that extended their friendship and went above and beyond to help us:
-Randy, the bicyclist from WV, who we rode with for more than a week and who is going to pick us up and take us to Raleigh on Sunday
-Randy and Cheryl from Montana, who offered us a safe haven from mosquitos, food, and excellent company on the 4th of July
-Rick from South Dakota, who let us stay in his home when he wasn't even there, then took us on an amazing kayak trip down the Missouri River
-the gas station attendant who drove Alex almost 40 miles total to find his wallet that fell out of his handlebar bag
-the people from Prophetstown, Illinois, for taking a great interest in us (doing a newspaper story!), and giving us detailed bicycling information and maps
-Mayor Jack and the people of Iroquois, Illinois, for giving us food, shelter, a shower, and being amazingly hospitable
-And all of the other people we have crossed paths with who have extended offers to help in anyway way and who have made this trip an absolutely amazing experience!

Many more people than were mentioned above deserved to be thanked, so THANK YOU! This trip would not have been possible or enjoyable in any way without you! Also, thank you to all of the readers of this blog for extending your encouragement and support. This has been an incredible experience and it has been great to share it with everyone.

So, what is next for Alex and I? Randy has graciously offered to pick us up in Blacksburg and drive us to Raleigh on Sunday. Alex will start grad school on Monday. I will be resuming the job search I left off in May and will have an interview in Raleigh on Wednesday. We are both excited to start the next phase of our lives, but we do want to be clear about one thing: we WILL finish this ride at some point. It is unclear when that will be, but it will be completed! We figure we have about 10 days of riding left to get from Danville, KY to the Atlantic Ocean. We plan on taking the Adventure Cycling Trans-America bicycle trail from Danville to the coast...when the weather is more favorable and after I purchase an actual touring bike so that I will have gears low enough to get me (and my gear) over the Appalachians.

Meanwhile, my dad cannot wait to start his next tour and a cross-country tour is still at the top of his list of things to do! I loved being able to share the first part of this ride with my dad, and hopefully I can join him for part of his next tour.

Also, be watching for links to the final set of pictures from this trip. Both Alex and I will work on uploading pictures when we get settled in Raleigh and will post the links on this website!

-Andrea