Palatka to St.Augustine

Today was a 47 mile flat route to the Atlantic coast,which included a 6 mile police escort through downtown St.Augustine. All 27 riders made it to the end,where we walked through the sand to dip our front tires in the ocean. We didn't stay long as we were in a light rain all day,and after our picnic lunch with family and friends,it started pouring very hard. We had 2 surprise visits from Bell Brinn and Nancy Howard,who were injured on the trip and had returned home. Both of these riders came down from their home states just see us finish.

Our last dinner tonight was in a local restaurant and there was lots of drinking with all the toasts to each other. I am ready to come home and this trip is once in a lifetime,because its to tiring to ever do it again. My bike is being shipped tomorrow and it will need some repair work and my body needs to rest.

I want to thank all my friends and family for all the good wishes and support,and my 3 good luck charms are still intact and I keep them on the bike forever. See you all when I get home.

High Springs to Palatka, FL The final Day!

Tomorrow we leave Palatka for St Augustine, FL. Our final full ride was 73 miles and although tiring since we had a 76 miler the day before we were excited to to be at the near end of this 2 months journey. How do I wind this to a conclusion? I think of the friendships made, and bonding that took place because all of us were doing something we love and being pushed almost every day to do more than we thought we could. For me the biggest experience was self reliance and the independence needed to be able to take care of myself. I just loved the challenge of knowing I could do whatever was needed to end the daily ride successfully, mostly. At beginning when I hurt first my left knee then my right leg I wondered just how was I going to be able to complete the ride. I think I was just suffering from over use and the hurts worked themselves out, thank goodness. Our friends seem to be looking forward to their next adventures. I know I am. Wendy heads home and is really looking forward to seeing Charley her darling dog. I'm heading to Key Largo with Tom for kayaking and snorkeling. I'm sure as the days go on more and more thoughts of this trip cross country will be brought to mind. For now I'm saying good bye and thank you all for your support and good wishes. It meant so much to hear from you and know you had our best and safe rides in mind. So for now we're clicking our heals together and saying there's no place like home😊.