St Augustine, FL and Finale

The last day of the ride - hard to believe and I still have not processed the fact that I not only cycled across the U.S. but did it with only 2 flat tires - which both were in camp - no breakdowns of bike or body!!!

We had a 41 mile ride to St Augustine and Bubba did another great job of sending us down roads that had minimum cars - a really pretty route! Arriving in St. Augustine I had the privilege of riding with Mike who lives there and so he took me on a tour of the historic city. Thanks to Mike I saw the hotels - one for the billionaires and another one for the millionaires - go figure - the millionaires were considered poor. Today the poor hotel hosts the city hall with a beautiful courtyard where up to 7 weddings are conducted on a Saturday. They actually have a wedding and tux store on the premises. Makes me think a little bit of Reno and Las Vegas. The rich hotel is still a hotel...

Robin then caught up to us and she came along for the rest of the tour and then her husband Hugh with Harry and Beth came and we had lunch at Mike's favorite restaurant named "Harry's".!!!

Then it was on to meet the group for our ride to the ocean... We met as a group and had our pic taken at the Welcome to St Augustine sign.

It was time to take our final ride together whoopin' it up to the Atlantic Ocean to dip our front wheels. It was a lot of fun, exciting, emotional and almost a let down - it was over! done!! Look what we accomplished.... cycling 3000 miles!!! Safely!!!

Nita, Helen, and Nisha were there to watch me ride in and to congratulate all the riders... wat fun it was!!!

Bubba took us all out to our last dinner together..What a great time we had - then it was time for a rider meeting for the last time... it was melancholy - Bubba said a few words and then gave each of us a plaque with a group picture of us at the Pacific Ocean. Hugs and kisses all around and then it was over. I'm still processing what the heck I just did... I'm going to read my blog - thank goodness I did it because all the days mesh together..

there were 5 of us EFI'ers...the only riders that rode Every Fun Inch - Me, Harry, Steve, R.O. and Mike - out of 13 riders - Pretty Cool, heh!!?!??
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat... with Bubba? in a heartbeat!!!

Palatka, Fl

Well, today was a 80+ day. Once again a great route - we were on another tree-lined canopy road for a few miles and then we rode 18 miles on a bike path that was absolutely beautiful... tree lined, no cars, a couple of rivers... nice!!! We were in Interlachan, Fl which means many lakes - a really pretty area. We stopped there for lunch and the last 15 miles we had a head wind that was work... so glad to get in and then Lora and I went to the DQ and I had a chocolate malt... gotta give this stuff up in a couple of days.

You wouldn't believe it unless you were here with me but we are staying at the National Guard Armory in a huge room.... all of us... a little different...

We are doing now what we do everynite - sit around in a circle of sorts and chat...
40 miles to go tomorrow and we'll be at our destination. I understand it's flat and pretty!! We'll dip our front wheels into the Atlantic Ocean, have a last meal together with some kind of an awards show and then I'm off to Orlando with Nita, Helen and Nisha. What a trip... will check in tomorrow and let you know how the last day goes... who cries and who doesn't :-)