Friday, August 6 - Day 54 - 37 Miles - 4081.3 Total Miles

We are finished!!!!!! We got on the road today at 9:00 am, with 37 miles to go to Yorktown. It was not a huge surprise to us that day 54 went much like the other 53....zero problems. We were so blessed on this trip with good weather, mechanical issues, navigational trouble, etc., and today was much of the same. I can count on one hand all of the times that we had trouble with irate drivers, chased into the van with weather issues, and it takes no hands to count the number of serious mechanical issues. It is amazing how smoothly the entire trip went.

We did all of our celebratory things at the beach in Yorktown, got Kyle to the airport in Newport News, and now I am sitting in Ryan and Tanya's home (Kim's brother and his wife) in Virginia Beach, trying to collect all of my thoughts concerning the trip. There are many thoughts going through my head and it is quite difficult to decide which to write about and how. There are several things that I thought about during the trip and I will try to sum them up the best that I can.

First of all, this is a trip that anyone can do. Wait...you do need to know how to ride a bike, but after that, anyone can do it. You get up in the morning, put on cycling clothes, pedal for awhile (the mileage is negotiable), eat a bunch, end your day, sleep, repeat (again, the number of days is negotiable). The further you get into the trip, the better shape you get into and the longer you are comfortable riding.

There are three main ways to make your way across the country on a bicycle. The most difficult would be a self-supported trip. Traveling this way involves carrying everything that you need on your bicycle in bags and panniers. If you have any mechanical trouble, you find a way to fix it....there is no one with you to pick you up and take you somewhere. You also end your day wherever you stop riding. If you are exhausted and in a place with no accomodations, you either keep riding, or throw your tent up on the side of the road. All of this, plus a bike that weighs about 70 pounds with all of your gear....resulting in a pace of about 4 mph up hills. The other two ways to do the trip, involves just you and your light bike. One involves using a business such as http://www.abbike.com/, which takes all of your stuff in a van and gets all accomodations and food for you. The second way is what we did. Both of these have positives and negatives. The biggest negative for using a business is they tell you where you are to end your day and you must make it there. Storms, mechanical issues, it doesn't matter....you must make it there. The biggest positive for this way is that all planning is done for you, which is the biggest negative in the way we did the trip. But, our way had the biggest positive....we did everything the way we wanted...if we wanted to stop, we could....if we wanted to get the van to take us off route for lodging, we could. Yeah, we still have to pedal approximately 1,312,200 revolutions to go coast to coast, but we did it the cushiest way possible.

It is amazing how many great people you meet on a trip like this. Like I said earlier, there were almost no negative issues with people and so many positive that it is impossible to mention them all. Our world is full of people that will do almost anything for you...even though they had no idea who you were. Couple that with the fact that I haven't watched much news for the last 2 months and I feel pretty good about the world that we live in. I am sure that I will slowly ease back into the old mind frame when I get back to hearing about the nightly shooting in Dayton when we return home. But, when I do, I will just think back to Bob and Violet in Sebree, Kentucky.

Now that I have experienced the last 2 months, I feel differently about doing a trip like this trip by myself. I feel like I could do something like this on my own, now. I am glad that I did not feel that way when I was in the planning process. Because I was unsure about doing this solo, I put invitations out to Bobby and Kyle and they were up for it. Yeah, we got on each other's nerves at times, but I am glad that the three of us did the trip. We all three have some good memories and will think about this summer for the rest of our lives.

I do want to thank everyone that contacted me and my family throughout the trip. The phone calls, emails, and comments on our site meant much to us. On a trip like this, it is nice to know that people are pulling for us to get it done. Hearing friends' voices made the length that we were away much more bearable....2 months is a long time to be away from home.

Lastly, I want to thank my wonderful family for doing this with me. Knowing that I was stealing a summer from Nathan and Anna was tough. They missed their friends and had to deal with some boring times when helping their mother play "support vehicle". I love them very much and hope that they look back on this summer with great memories. They were awesome. As far as my wife, Kim...what can I say....I got lucky with this one. Not many women would do what she did for me this summer. When I got this crazy idea a couple years ago, I threw around the thought of using a company. That would have meant 54 days without Kim, Nathan, and Anna....which was not an option. So...what was a crazy idea a couple of years ago was made possible by the coolest family in the world.

Well....that is it from me. I hope you have enjoyed following along with us on our trip. We have definitely enjoyed keeping you informed of our adventures.

I believe the part time journalist, Kim has a few parting words as well:

(Kim).....To begin, I want to let you know that I have never been more proud of my husband and the two young men that accompanied us, than I was today. Watching them roll into Yorktown, and then dip their wheels in the Atlantic Ocean was truly an emotional time for me. You see.....I had the best seat in this whole adventure! I got to see all of the sights and meet all of the people that they did, but I did not have to expend quite the energy that they did to do it! So, as they finished, a quick "replay" of 8 weeks of riding/driving flashed through my mind. In some ways, it seemed to fly by, and in others, not so much! I am so grateful for this summer and the experiences that we had. And to repeat Steve's sentiments, the people in this country are truly wonderful!

Just one last thing....if you know Steve and I very well, then you know that we really live a fairly conservative life. Truly, this trip was soooooo outside of our comfort level. Honestly, there was a part of me that figured we would never really go through with it! Last summer, Steve and I would talk about what we would be doing "next summer" at this time. To actually live out these visions was so fulfilling for me on such a personal level. I thank God for the safety and practically perfect conditions we had during our trip. If there was one thing that I would like to convey to our faithful readers that I have learned over this summer's experiences, it is that you should never discount something you would like to accomplish in your lifetime, no matter how crazy or impossible it seems! Our minds make things out to be so much more difficult or scary than the actual experience turns out to be! This trip was the best thing that my family and I could have ever asked for and more! I am grateful to have been a part of it, and I know Steve and the kids feel the same! Thanks for your support, love, and prayers!

Buccs On Bikes Arrive At Yorktown


Steve, Preparing For The Last Day On The Road

Views From Colonial Parkway

The Road Ended Here

Buildings In Yorktown

Plaque With Victory Monument in Yorktown

Nathan and Anna At The Victory Monument

Ceremonial "Tire Dip" In The Atlantic Ocean

Thursday, August 5 – Day 53 – 71.7 Miles – 4044.3 Total Miles

35 Miles to go!!!! We pulled off Day 53 without incident – minus one little detour. It only added about 2 miles to our route, so in the big picture, not a huge deal. We did manage to get in one last ride with heavy traffic. The majority of our ride tomorrow is on a bike path (no cars) and the Colonial Parkway (low speed limit?), so hopefully we have seen the last of non-stop, speeding cars.

It is amazing how one’s riding shape and mentality improves over the course of a trip like this. Today, we are feeling like we had an off-day, with only 71 flat miles. I am sure that Bobby would admit that the 70 miles today felt a little different than 70 miles early in the trip. As I predicted, his 22 year old legs got stronger and stronger throughout the trip. My 44 year old legs did not change too much….Kyle….the jury is out on his legs. I think he is feeling stronger, though. He has gone from talking about putting his bike away for the year on his Ohio return, to talking about maintaining his form and riding when he gets home. His couch potato days may be a thing of the past.

On the ride today, I was thinking about many different things, but there was one in particular. I can remember many times on this trip where I would look at a course profile or a particular warning on our map about an area. The area in question would be a couple of days away and I would worry about the possible difficulties. Then, three days later, we would be through that area. Sometimes the warnings were accurate, but most of the time….I would pass through the area and not even remember what the potential problems were. That process was repeated a number of times….with no warning ever turning out to be as big as I, or someone else, made it out to be. It seems I do that a lot in everyday life. I always make a big deal out of an upcoming event…to later find out that it was blown out of proportion and all of the worrying was wasted energy. That was deep.

We are in Williamsburg tonight. Bobby’s parents are also going to be in town. It will be neat that they get to see their son’s finish tomorrow at Yorktown. I am not sure what Bobby is more excited about….seeing his parents or getting to sleep in a bed tonight in their room. The Dunns have kind of hogged all the beds in the hotel rooms. Before you say anything, Kim and I are getting old….Kyle and Bobby are both young and flexible. Kim’s brother is also going to make his way up from Virginia Beach to see our finish. We are excited about spending a couple of days with him and his wife.

Well, we are going to get out and walk around Colonial Williamsburg for awhile. We have put it off until now (6:00 pm) because of the heat. It is close to 100 degrees, so it would have been brutal to go out for a walk when we got here. God-willing, we will update from the end of the route tomorrow. Until then…….




Capital Trail Bike Path That We Spent Some Time On Today

One Of Many Battlefields That We Passed Today