Patti said...

YEAH!!!! You made it! Congratulations! You guys did a great job with all your set backs and interviews and getting the word out. (((GROUP HUG))) Can't wait to see you at your arrival party. Who knows...maybe Katie Couric or Matt Lauer will show up to interview you! Drive safe and enjoy the ride up north. See ya soon...Patti

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS!! We're proud of all three of you. See you soon!

Love, MOM

Anonymous said...

YOU DID IT!! I am so proud of you. The fact that you pushed through the pain of a broken back to make it coast to coast doesn't surprise me. That is just who you are. I am most proud, however, at what you have done for your cause. I think you have made a difference for a lot of people. Thanks Alex and Beverly for the support. I wish I could make it to the July 2 event, but look forward to seeing you when I come to Maine in mid-July.

Love,
Brother Pine

Come On In, The Water's Great!

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

We made it! Yeah! WoooooHooooo! Today we woke up in Savannah, Georgia, knowing that we only had 20 miles to go before we reached the Atlantic Ocean and the endpoint of our ride. 20 miles! Nothing to it! We could do that in our sleep! But before we get to the ending, let's recap the week that was...

We did indeed enter into Georgia about a week ago, which proved fairly uneventful. After what has happened to me on this trip, "uneventful" isn't such a bad thing. Georgia has proved to be a better state for biking, with at least a little bit of a shoulder to ride on most of the roads, and fairly considerate drivers. The fact that Lance Armstrong has ridden in the Tour of Georgia race the last couple of years, and also that each year several hundred riders participate in the Bicycle Ride Around Georgia means that more people are aware of bicyclists around here, and that has helped us feel better about being on the road. Plus, our extra time spent searching out the back roads (and less heavily trafficked roads) has defintely paid off. We only ended up on a dirt road once! It's all part of the adventure...

Georgia itself has been nice enough. We've had nothing but sunny weather, warm but not ridiculously hot. But there hasn't been much of a "wow" factor about Georgia. We wake up, we get on our bikes and start riding, cruising past open farmlands, alternating with wooded tracts planted by the lumber companies. We ride through one or two towns of any significant size, we stop on occasion to have a snack, and then we call it a day. We have met lots of nice people. In the town of Monticello, for instance, we rode through when they were having their farmer's market in the town square. We talked to a few of the people there, and they wound up giving us a jar of squash and tomato relish, a bag of peaches, and a pound of boiled peanuts. And a little bit of money. Nobody down here even questions it - if you tell them you're doing something to try and raise money, they try to help. I guess it's true what they say about Southern Hospitality. For the record, none of us particularly cared for the boiled peanuts. A little soggy.

The media appearances have kept us busy. I was interviewed by the newspaper in Newnan, GA. We received a call from the CBS TV station in Macon, and did an interview with them that appeared that evening on the news. I thought it came out rather well.

As we got closer to Savannah, it dawned on us that this trip might actually end. Soon. Which seemed a little hard to believe. On Tuesday afternoon, June 21, we pulled into the Savannah Visitor's Center, ending the day with only 20 more miles to go before reaching our goal. Unbelievable. The next day, we got on our bikes for the last time and headed to the sea. We wound our way through downtown Savannah, which is a beautiful town with shaded streets lined with large trees draped with spanish moss. Then we rode past the marshlands on the way to Tybee Island, where we would officially run out of road and into the ocean. When we got there, the Savannah celiac support group had a few members there to welcome us, and we did two different interviews for Savannah TV stations. Very nice. We took our bikes down to the ocean's edge and dipped our wheels into the water, ending our ride. Then we set our bikes down and dove into the water. It was wonderful! If there is one good thing to ending in Savannah instead of Maine, it's that the ocean temperature is about 20 degrees warmer. We splashed around and enjoyed the moment, not quite believing that we had made it all the way, 3000 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic. I think it will take a few days before it all sinks in and we can start to reflect on what we've done.

That night, the support group took us out to dinner, which was also very nice. They really should be commended for pulling together several different things on such short notice. Thanks to all in Savannah! We wish we had more time to spend in this lovely city, but unfortunately, tomorrow we must hit the road again, this time in the RV as we make our way back to Maine. We have a couple of promo stops to make along the way, and a few baseball games to see in Baltimore, Philly, and Boston, and then we'll be back in Maine for the July 2 celebration. I hope to see you all there!

Thanks for all your support, especially after my accident. It really made a difference to me to know that so many people cared for me and that you all were so encouraging. I couldn't have done this without you!

Take care,

Regina