Reflections

I can't believe that we have been finished now for almost two months. There isn't a day that passes that we don't think about our journey and yes, we miss it. I had the most difficult transition back to "real life" but I've come through on the other side. Neil (cyclist we met in NY from London) arrived at our house the day after we drove down from Seattle. It was fantastic having him here because of all people, he understood what we accomplished and what difficulties we faced. He put up with me as we ran errands.

"Is there more to life than just buying toilet paper at Costso?" I wondered. "Why is everyone in such a hurry?" There was the classic moment when I came back from Trader Joes having bought only desert. I couldn't choose anything for dinner because the choices were overwhelming.

Ah yes, the first week of reentry. I'm sure glad that is over.

Changes

So, I've been keeping notice as to the physical changes I would experience.  The obvious have been strong legs, strong bodies.  My eyesight has improved as has my memory.  I have always had low blood pressure but now it is even lower, around 91 over 60 with my pulse being 66.  My weight has remained the same (I didn't want to end up looking like Skelator) but I am sure that my body composition has changed.  

My knees are still incredibly sore.  My muscles don't hurt at all and overall I am surprised at how fast I am recovering from being sore for 3 months.

The nicest people we met...

The nicest people we met in Idaho were from Oregon and Iowa!  You can read about them at kissthemidwest.blogspot.com.  We met them shortly before rolling into Mountain Home, Idaho.  They are headed for Iowa and have been caught by this early cold weather.  I've been thinking of them and praying for them as they continue on their journey.  Emily & Kiel met Cory in Eugene when Cory worked on Emily's bike.  They reconnected in Boise and are traveling together for a while.  I loved Emily's spirit and especially her comment about searching for trees.  I could so relate after being without them for so long.

Our Last Day

We officially reached the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday evening.  We pedaled over 90 miles that day and it was a perfect ending.

Eugene was a great place and on our way out of town we rode on more of their fantastic bike lanes.  I had to stop at a great coffee shop.  I rated it second best to my favorite in Woodstock, Vermont.  

It quickly warmed up to around 60 and we worked hard the entire day.  Most of the time we were silent.  Sadness.

I was even able to ride in my shorts for part of the day.  Blessing.

Our last 14 miles to Florence were along a busier road but we had a great shoulder to ride on.  The icing on the cake was an unkempt man with his bicycle standing on the other side of the road.

"I'm running for governor!" he yelled across the busy road.  He was holding up a sign and announced his website.

Cedar and I used the last 14 miles to list off 14 of the things we were thankful for.  Zion dropped behind because he thought we were being too sentimental.

My parents met us in town and followed us the final 5 miles to the ocean.  We walked out to the ocean to touch the water.

Finished.

Learning

We have been trying to list off the various trails and paths that we followed as we crossed the country.

We began with the towns being chartered and watched as the dates became younger.

We followed the Stagecoach Trail in Northern Illinois.

We rode along the Mississippi River Trail in Iowa.

We followed the trail of Lewis and Clark.

We rode along The Outlaw Trail in Nebraska.

In Wyoming we connected with The Oregon Trail and The Mormon Trail.

We used Goodales Cutoff in Idaho.

We may remember others but it has been amazing to ride in the footsteps that so many took before us.

We are sad...

I have been surprised at how sad the boys are to be finishing our trip.  They willingly joined me on fulfilling my dream and I am so blessed to have had them with me.  We always gave them the option of stopping and they never even leaned in that direction.  I am very proud.

We Love Eugene

Eugene has a fantastic bike route system.  They even have buttons to push at intersections to turn the signal green at the side of the road just for bicyclists!  We loved it!  We will get to ride on more of the cycling network tomorrow as we head out of town.  

On my last post, I forgot to mention the great encouragement that we received on the way up.  We had more honks, waves and smiles than any other pass.  The best came from an elderly couple who both waved and gave us a huge thumbs up.  She had a great smile!!  The twists and turns of the road prohibits semi trucks and any vehicles over 35 feet so the cars we did encounter gave us great clearance.