My Parade

We rode our 40 miles in the morning to get to a fire station in St. Augustine before 10:30 am. Around 10:45, we lined up two by two behind a police escort to travel down the road to the river, over the bridge, and down to the beach several miles away. It was cool to have the sirens wailing and lights flashing. A police motorcycle and SUV were busy blocking traffic at lights and intersections along the way. A cruiser led the parade and our Subaru SAG wagon was the caboose at the end of the bicycle train.

It was pretty exciting. We were riding in the MIDDLE of the road, taking LEFT TURNS from the center, and riding through RED LIGHTS! It felt naughty but nice. I love a parade and I remember thinking that this parade is all about me (us) in this once in a lifetime event!

When we arrived at a circle in front of the beach house, there was a crowd of people waiting for us. Friends, family, and former riders were all out to greet us with balloons, signs, and great applause. I kicked off my bike sandals and socks, lifted by bike, and headed over the white beach sand. Even now we didn't want to get any sand or grit in our deraillers. Down to the warm water of the Atlantic Ocean , we dipped our tire in the salty surf. We had our pictures taken and eventually headed over to a pavilion for a picnic lunch.

For those of us without alternative transportation we biked to our hotel a few miles back for a shower and a few minutes of calm. It was time to start stripping the bike for shipping as well as repacking my suitcase and duffel bag to see if everything would fit on the plane for the ride home. I had to add a little more duct tape to one of my suitcases where the zipper had detached from the outer edge of the case about 6 weeks ago.

Having a few hours before our farewell dinner, I hopped on a trolley tour of St. Augustine with a friend and careened around the town for an hour and a half. At first, I was wishing that I had an extra day to see more of the downtown, but getting a glimpse of the historic area was just fine. Getting home seems to be more of a priority right now. While riding on the trolley, I just wanted to tell anyone that would listen that we just completed a 3,000 mile bike ride for some more jaw dropping. Those few people that we did just stared in disbelief. One person kept saying you didn't start in San Diego, California. One close look at our bike tans was proof enough to finally convince him.

Our farewell dinner was at a restaurant down the street at six pm. It was strange to be sitting at a table with linen and cloth napkins instead of sitting in a parking lot in a plastic white chair holding a plate in the sun hoping that we would finish before the bugs came out. I think it was just Woman's Tour way of starting to get us used to “reentry” into the real world! We had a choice of food in a very unhurried atmosphere. Throughout the dinner, people would periodically get up and give a toast, make a comment, or give thanks. It was lovely.

I thought it was timely that my aunt sent me an email about meeting people for a reason, a season, or a lifetime so I used some of those words in my comments. It doesn't matter if we remain lifelong friends or not, we experienced something really special together and enjoying the moment together was unique and special that put us in a “club”that few other people have ever experienced.

Hugs were profuse after dinner as we said our goodbyes. Several riders chose not to attend the dinner as long good byes were hard for them. As we headed out of the restaurant, it was dusk and I felt like walking down to the fort by the water for a walk and perhaps a little processing time. Several other people joined me and we ran into many school groups that were on a field trip. The kids were so impressed at our accomplishments. One boy asked us if our legs were tired. Later on they all walked by us and gave us a huge group clap. Thanks boys! It was a nice ending to our evening.

I slept little again that night, pumped up from the finality of this accomplishment interwoven with excitement of going home. What an adventure!

Thanks to all my blog readers who had the patience to "listen."
Peace,
Robin