Woo Hoo!!! I did it!!!

I have finished!!  San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida - all on a bike!!  Two months on the road - how crazy is that???

Snack table at 7:30 this morning and then off we went!!  Just a short meander through the countryside (40 miles or so) to finally all meet up at the fire station in St. Augustine - yesterday the weather forecast was for rain and thunderstorms, but as always on this trip, the rain held off, it was overcast and cool though horribly humid...  We were met at the fire station by the local police - two cars - and off we went through the city of St. Augustine with our police escort.  Like Madeleine we went in two straight lines - through traffic lights, waving to the crowds - it was a magical moment.  Carol, our guide, had said that we would feel goosebumps and I did!!  It gave us just a bit of time to think about what we had accomplished - I still can't answer the question "Why would you want to do this??" but I know that it was something amazing!!!

Down to the beach where we were greeted by family and friends, and then down to the ocean for the ceremonial dip in the water..  I do have a great picture of me (taken by Sheila - thank you!) but the internet is not great here, so soon, okay??

Lunch at the beach, some free time in the afternoon and a final, farewell banquet.  To celebrate and to be a little sad - we all know that the odds are most of us won't see each other again.  But I have enjoyed - immensely - the time that I have spent with these fabulous, fabulous women.

Now - some statistics Janine style...

1 - # of falls - first day (loser!!)
4 - # of heart-pounding close encounters of the canine kind...
5 - # of flats!!   (1 - # of flats that I fixed pretty much on my own)
1 - # of swims in my biking clothes
2 - # of packages mailed home - with stuff that I didn't need
8 - # of people that fell ill one night in Blythe
2 - amazing restaurant meals  The Curious Kumquat in Silver City & Jacksons in Pensacola
4 - foreigners in the group - 2 from the UK and 2 from Canada
1 - Zydeco band (Sheila playing the washboard on stage..)
1 - 12 bar blues band
1 - B & B with a sunflower chair on the sunset-viewing roof terrace
1 - B & B owned by a lady whose husband, the prison warden, shot her 5 times and then sat down to watch her die.. (she lived - I assume that he went to prison)
1 - century ride!!!
25 - miles NOT ridden on the Hell Rio ride (sorry, Del Rio)
3 - Carnegie Deli cheesecakes  (what was I thinking??)
1 - rest day at a holiday spot - on the beach!!
4 or 5 - # of times that I was lost - never seriously though
3 - Bubba encounters!
3 - total number of chefs on the trip
1 - oh-so-glorious home cooked turkey dinner
1 - truly horrible, nasty rainy day (leaving Austen)
1 - scorpion (in Sheila's bag)
2 - really bad, soul-destroying nasty head wind days
8 Best Western hotels
4 or so Starbucks!!
too many to count - Walmarts (you can buy anything there - who knew??)
1 free ice cream cone from Wendell in Perry, Florida

58 days in total
48 cycling days
OVER 3,000 MILES!!!