Day 52- Portsmouth, NH

The final day of the trip– I seriously can’t believe it. Today I rode with Rocket and Greg, so there’s no surprise that right out of the gate, not even a mile from the hotel, we stopped at Panera for about an hour. We had strict instructions to be at an elementary school which was at mile 52 by 12:00, so that we could all ride in to the beach together. After goofing off at Panera, we hit the road, stopping about every 3 miles for a picture. At one point, we looked down at the time, and thought, Oh CRAP, we are going to miss the police escort to the Atlantic Ocean if we don’t pick up the pace! We made it to the SAG stop at mile 30, and there were a lot of people there, so we felt better—I rode in to the elementary school with Rocket, Greg, Gerard, and Christine. Once we got to the school, you could see the excitement on everyone’s faces! Only 4 more miles to go to complete our cross country journey. We took a group photo–and then headed out together for our last miles of the trip. A police car led the group, with Arlene, Herb, and Robert following close behind it. When I saw the water, I felt such a sense of pride…i made it! As we turned into the park, I headed straight for the water…Wayne looks back at me and says “Did you see the sign from your brother?…” I looked puzzled. He said, “yeah, there was a sign that said ‘You Rock Erin– love Big Bro’…he must have had one sent..”  So, I turned around to go find it..as i’m riding back to the street, I see MY MOM standing there with another sign…AHHH!!!!! She totally surprised me! I wasn’t expecting anyone to be there–Apparently Patrick called her and begged her to fly out since he couldn’t be there..It was a great surprise! So, after hugging mom, we both headed out to the Atlantic for the ceremonial wheel dip…back tire in the Pacific on June 3rd, and today, front tire in the Atlantic. We took lots of pictures out by the water, and then headed back towards the cars so I could check out my signs. My mom made a lot of signs from different family members, and she had balloons and flowers, and a shrine of me and Patrick– it was really cute. We stayed at the beach for a little while, meeting family members of other riders, and having some beers. It was a fantastic day!!

Well, the ride is over, but the adventure has just begun. I’ve learned so much about myself over the course of this trip. I’m proud of myself for riding every mile, rain or shine (or snow), but I’m even more proud of myself just for coming. Just for deciding that this was something that I really wanted to do, and doing it. There was a list a mile long of good reasons for me not to come on this trip, and it really took a leap for me to look past all of those good reasons, and do it anyways. And I’m SO GLAD that I did! This was the trip of a lifetime–HUGE THANKS to my husband for encouraging me to take on this adventure. Your support means the world to me.

For all of you who emailed and left comments– you really kept me going, and I truly appreciate it. I apologize that these posts are late, but I can’t describe how tired you are at the end of these days. I hope that you all take a leap and do something that you’ve always wanted to do, and said that you would do it later. Do it now!!

As for me, I’m back to Florida to see my parents and pick up Bentley, and then on to Hawaii– Patrick comes home the first week in August (YAY!) and then we are headed to New Zealand for two weeks for vacation! I’m a lucky girl, I know. I’ve started a new blog just for everyday stuff, so I’ll put some pics from New Zealand on it when we get back. It is www.enpsully.wordpress.com.

 Thanks again to everyone for your support–I couldn’t have done it without you!

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