Final Thoughts.

"Too often we are scared of what we might not be able to do. Scared of what people might think if we tried. We let fears stay in the way of our hopes. We say 'no' when we want to say 'yes'. We sit quietly when we want to scream. And we shout with the others when we should keep our mouths shut. Why? After all, we do only go around once. There's really no time to be afraid."

I don’t know if it really feels like we have just cycled across the country yet, seeing the ocean laid before us at Bethany Beach was a completely surreal event. I do know that I feel like I’ve been away from home (wherever that is right now) for a long time.  My bed is in Columbus, my job is in Chicago, my family and friends are everywhere in between and it’s time for me to get off of my bike and back to the real world.  It was easy to grow into the cycle of the trip: ride, eat, sleep and it will definitely be hard to leave it and be a grown up again. 

Every day of the trip was its own story, I hope I even did a little bit of them justice by documenting them here. For the past 2 months we woke up and had a goal to move a few more miles across this vast country, some days we did them fast, some days we struggled to stay up right because we were pedaling along so slowly up a mountain.  Some days were fun and an adventure around every turn, and some days just plain hurt; but they are all memories that I love and hopefully 10 or 20 years from now when I come back to read these entries Ill still cherish them all like I do now.

I learned a lot from this trip both from the people I was riding with and the roads themselves.  I learned that some times you have to get off the interstate and enjoy the country roads of America, stop at scenic overlooks and eat at the place that all the locals are at.  I learned that we all need to visit the National Parks more often, watch sunsets and appreciate nature for all it has to offer. I learned that everyone has a story, sometimes you just have to ask the right questions.  I also learned that in life you have to take a chance, go for it. I just rode my bike across the country with 22 other people at 20 mph, through deserts, up mountains and across Texas, anything is possible if you are truly passionate about it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, I was a science major so hopefully my words were adequate. Thank you for those who made the donations that helped make this trip possible. Thank you for all of those that came out and met us along the way, you don’t know how much those visits meant.  Thank you to all the churches, schools, community centers, hospitals, and random people that took care of us in too many ways to name along the way. Thanks to my mom and dad for all their support every single day.  Thanks to Maggie, Katie and Libby and rest of the leadership team for all the time and efforts you put in to make this ride possible. Thanks to all the other riders, I loved hearing your stories, riding in your pace lines and consider you all friends and cycling teammates for the rest of my life. I'm not cool enough to have a blog in real life so this is the end for me. On to the next journey, No Chain!