Today's Ride (One day more!)
The Stats
90 miles5,456 ft. climbed
Miles Completed: 3,432Miles to Go: 17 [NOTE: I've adjusted this for actual mileage, with full knowledge that the math does NOT add up to 3396!]States Visited: 15 of 15Total Climbed: 112,508 ft.
Highlights: Crossing the two final state lines (albeit one without a proper state sign) and essentially (though not completely!) finishing the ride in one piece!
90 miles
5,456 ft. climbed
Miles Completed: 3,432
Miles to Go: 17 [NOTE: I've adjusted this for actual mileage, with full knowledge that the math does NOT add up to 3396!]
States Visited: 15 of 15
Total Climbed: 112,508 ft.
Highlights: Crossing the two final state lines (albeit one without a proper state sign) and essentially (though not completely!) finishing the ride in one piece!
The Ride
This ride was fully powered by the soundtrack of the day, which I couldn't get out of my head! (See below.) It was a challenging, but really pleasant ride. More quintessential New England, which felt familiar, in a distant past sort of way.
I started out at a quick pace, closer to some of the other riders than usual. My flat even cooperated and was discovered before leaving the second SAG, though it did delay my finish time.
We started the ride through the town of Brattleboro, past the brewery I went to the day before and across the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. Sadly, this was the first state crossing that lacked a proper "Welcome To...." sign, so the sign indicating the closest N.H. liquor store had to suffice.
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| The closest we found to a "state line" sign |
We soon reached a quintessential covered bridge. The clear blue skies made for a nice contrast against the vibrant red roofing.
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| I never saw Bridge No. 2! |
We eventually crossed into Massachusetts, greeted by a "proper" but not particularly impressive state sign.  |
| Second SAG where the Edward Jones office provided the best restroom yet (and I then discovered my flat)! |
Given my earlier flat, plus my generally slow pace, I'm pretty sure I was DFL (dead you know what last) to pull into the hotel. But as I reminded myself throughout this tour, it was a journey, not a race. And I was thrilled to finish (or almost finish) the ride in one piece with bike in tact!
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| I did it -- almost! |
However, as exciting as it was to finish the day's ride, it was a bit frustrating and anti-climactic. If you've been reading this, you now know that all I want at the end of a ride is a cold beer. It's not that complicated. But the hotel was under major renovations. The hotel bar was closed. The "extra" beer I had bought the night before for the "catered" dinner managed not get transported. And there was no obvious gas station or convenience store nearby. So I retreated for a shower, knowing that Ben and Alana would be arriving soon enough.
In the interim, Paul came to the rescue with a cold Guinness -- my hero of the day!
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| Paul with a Guinness to the rescue! |
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| Someone was happy to see me! |
The Soundtrack of the Day
Ok, so we may have really ruined this beautiful song from Les Miz for any listeners, and I've yet to get it out of my head, but it was my composing feat of the tour. Our rendition of One Day More was so awful and epic, yet sung (or shouted) from the heart, and it carried me through the entire ride. Days later, I still can't get it out of my head. If you dare, you can listen here: https://www.facebook.com/1628294711/videos/646391897111017/
And here are the lyrics:
One day more
Another day, another destiny
This never-ending road to Revere Beach
These riders full of grease and grime
Will surely ride another time
One day more
[We rode together for the tour
How can I ride when we are parted?
One day more
Tomorrow we'll be worlds away
And yet our Crossroads family started
One more day upon my bike seat
Will we ever feel again?...
One more day of hotel breakfasts,
One more day of laundry too
What a ride this tour has been,
And I swear this all is true
But tomorrow we'll be there…..
One more day before the wheel dip
Do I need to use more cream?
At the shores of the Atlantic
Will we cry or will we scream?
When we ride out two by two,
Will the fasties pootle too?
Will the rappers sing again?????
The time is now, the day is here
One day more
One day more to cross the country
We will finally reach the shores
We'll be ready for the wheel dip
And to end our saddle sores (one day more)
[Watch 'em ride away
Fasties catch their prey
Beating trucks to hotel
Each and every day
Then they get a flat
Maybe needs a patch
Most of them are so fast
They're not coming back]
One day left in our big bike ride
Keeping Sylvie by our side
But what happened to the lobster,
Met the fate of Mark and Ron
Simon may be all the faster,
But today he pootles, too….
Do you hear the rappers sing?
Our place, is here, we'll sing to you.
One day more
We will miss the waffle breakfasts
And the washing of our kits,
We will long for Texas Longhorn,
and of course the Applebees.
[HERE"S WHERE I CAN"T GET IT TO MATCH THE MUSIC…]
But there's still another route rap
And a SAG or two to eat.
We'll be riding toward the ocean
One last time our paths will meet.
One day more
[skip stuff]
We all rode three thousand miles
and some hundred more for sure,
Tomorrow is the wheel dip day
Tomorrow we'll be riding to the cold Atlantic shore
One more dawn
One more day
One day more!!!!
Another day, another destiny
This never-ending road to Revere Beach
These riders full of grease and grime
Will surely ride another time
One day more
[We rode together for the tour
How can I ride when we are parted?
One day more
Tomorrow we'll be worlds away
And yet our Crossroads family started
One more day upon my bike seat
Will we ever feel again?...
One more day of hotel breakfasts,
One more day of laundry too
What a ride this tour has been,
And I swear this all is true
But tomorrow we'll be there…..
One more day before the wheel dip
Do I need to use more cream?
At the shores of the Atlantic
Will we cry or will we scream?
When we ride out two by two,
Will the fasties pootle too?
Will the rappers sing again?????
The time is now, the day is here
One day more
One day more to cross the country
We will finally reach the shores
We'll be ready for the wheel dip
And to end our saddle sores (one day more)
[Watch 'em ride away
Fasties catch their prey
Beating trucks to hotel
Each and every day
Then they get a flat
Maybe needs a patch
Most of them are so fast
They're not coming back]
One day left in our big bike ride
Keeping Sylvie by our side
But what happened to the lobster,
Met the fate of Mark and Ron
Simon may be all the faster,
But today he pootles, too….
Do you hear the rappers sing?
Our place, is here, we'll sing to you.
One day more
We will miss the waffle breakfasts
And the washing of our kits,
We will long for Texas Longhorn,
and of course the Applebees.
[HERE"S WHERE I CAN"T GET IT TO MATCH THE MUSIC…]
But there's still another route rap
And a SAG or two to eat.
We'll be riding toward the ocean
One last time our paths will meet.
One day more
[skip stuff]
We all rode three thousand miles
and some hundred more for sure,
Tomorrow is the wheel dip day
Tomorrow we'll be riding to the cold Atlantic shore
One more dawn
One more day
One day more!!!!
The Banquet and Award Ceremony
Tonight was the final dinner and awards ceremony. Bar opened at 5 (finally!). Dinner at 6, followed by awards.
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| Alana, Ben, & Bondi joined the festivities. |
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| Tom happily returned to his bartending roots! |
It was reminiscent of the end of camp banquets, except that no one really had any clothes to "dress up" in and, but for the couples reuniting after many weeks apart, there wasn't anyone making out in "the road" (for all my camp friends from the 70's, couldn't help but think Beatles, "Why Don't We Do It in the Road"!!!)
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| Todd, my brew-meister! |
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| Alena, the consummate cheerleader |
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| Christine always made me laugh! |
There were several awards, including those for EFI (Every "Fabulous" Inch), of which I was a proud recipient. 
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| The EFI Award Recipients |
I also received an award bestowed by Lisa (another Route Rap Rapper) for "Best Worst Lyricist," which was particularly meaningful (seriously). I can't believe she had the forethought to think of the award, order it, and get it delivered to the hotel with all that we had going on. For what it's worth, she and her husband Lee were some of the most giving people on the tour, and most likely to be seen stopping to help another rider change a flat or provide medical assistance!
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| Thanks, Lisa! |
And there were some other awards. But as suspected, it was a weird time. We were finished, but not quite finished. Celebratory, but a bit too early. Saying farewells, but not quite that either. And I still didn't want to put the proverbial cart before the horse, because we still had some, though not many, miles to ride. Kind of in limbo pretending we weren't.
The Route Rap Rappers did get a coveted slot on the agenda and did a not too awful rendition of "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music -- but for better or worse, I fear this one was not actually recorded, so you are spared!
Things wound down pretty early, and I escaped to the nearby Residence Inn where Ben had booked a free room (in reality, a 2 BR suite!) and had a late dinner nearby, martini and all...
Just need to get through the final day!
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