Portland ME

Sanford ME to Portland ME

The Final Ride for BBBRAA 

35 Miles

Today started and ended like every other day but the middle was amazing and very emotional. We started with a beautiful suntise and the morning rush to get ready and ended with a little hill to our hotel.

The final cue sheet

But knowing this was our last ride of our cross country adventure made every moment special and I cherished every mile as I rode.

Of course there was the beautiful, tree-lined gravel path for about 14 milesthat slowed me down a bit but our group gathered at designated places so that we could ride to our finish at East End Beach together. The big surprise of the day was seeing Matt and Molly on rented bikes as we rode across the bridge into Portland. They joined us for the last few miles to the beach and then lent their expertise to the photo ops. They even sent the photos to family to let everyone know mission accomplished.

On the bridge into Portland

Celebrating at East End Beach

On Sunday morning we said goodbye to our trusty bikes and packed the van to begin its journey to Milwaukee. The enormity of my accomplishment finally began to register and I could barely think of the trip without crying. 

And as I'm not yet ready to give up biking consuming a large part of my day after lunch with Matt, Molly, and Nancy at a yummy local, organic cafe, I spent time compiling my statistics for the ride:

*11 family members and friends (Ali, Ina, AJ, H, Michelle, Rob, Jon, Rachel, Sandi, Matt, Molly) who joined me for some part of the trip and supported me throughout

Ali and Jon, Ina and AJ and H came to celebrate
the sendoff weekend in Portland

Rob joined me for several days of riding in Wisconsin

Rachel and Sandi joined me for two long days of riding along the Erie Canal in New York

Jon hosted our group at Google for lunch and a tour
and gifted everyone with Google Bike to Work shirts

Matt and Molly surprised me for the final miles to Portland Maine and the Atlantic Ocean

*3000 miles of biking and 82,000 feet of climbing (up mountains)

*Steepest day Tilton, New Hampshire to Sanford, Maine 3665 feet of climbing over 53 miles with an average speed of 10 mph (so also the slowest day)

*Fastest day White Sulphur Springs, MT to Harlowton, MT 58 miles with an average speed of 18 mph and a maximum speed of 38.1 mph

*Flattest day Webster, SD to Ortonville, MN 315 feet of climbing (basically flat as can be) over 34 miles and an average speed of 17.5 mph

*0 colds or medical problems
*15 mins of light rain while riding

*3 flat tires, 2 new tires

*3 pairs of cleats

*4 birthdays celebrated (Rhonda, Larry, Nancy - 60, Pete - 70)

*1 fall while standing (not on my bike) and 1 fall while standing with my bike

*100+ peanut butter and jelly sandwiches eaten

*200+ Vega supplements that kept me healthy throughout the trip

*1 continent, 2 countries, 13 states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and the province of Ontario, Canada)

*2 oceans (Atlantic, Pacific)

*3 great lakes (Michigan, Ontario, Erie)

*1 Erie Canal

And most importantly: 

*12 people I've ridden with from Portland to Portland (Nancy, Chris, Mary, Suzanne, Nevin, Pete, Harold, Pat, Rhonda, Jim, Larry and Roger)

*10 people who've joined us to ride a part of our journey (Rob, Joel, Harold's son, Patrick, Tessa, Jean, Paul, Pete's brother Scott, Rachel, Sandi)

*9 people who've driven our SAG vehicles and supported us at our rest stops and before and after the daily rides (Keith and Martha, Damon and Cindy, Sam, Tessa, Mike, Joy, Sandra)

*2 dogs who lightened up our days

*2 vegan companies that supplied complimentary goodies - Veggie Grill and Vega

*2 friends of friends (Gene, Peggy, Marie) who supplied a bike and a pie party at our finish in Saratoga Springs

*2 co-organizers who made this trip happen - Nancy and Chris.

All loaded up and ready to head home to Milwaukee