Mike's Ride for Clean Air: Washington !

We made it !

Our little band of 17 riders, and Gene and Charleton and Lynne all got to Washington this morning and we had our welcome ceremony. Got checked into the hotel and took the bike off to Revolution Cycles to be shipped back to Tucson. Rob's wife, Beth, drove us back to the hotel, and now I am looking at this thing in the hotel room that I believe is called a bed. It is so much bigger than my sleeping bag and Therm-a-rest pad.

I think the American Lung Association folks took some very good group shots, so I am just going to post up a few pics that I snapped this morning. Rob, Sarah and I rolled into Washington around 9:30 or so, and after passing along the Potomac and the Kennedy Center, we got to the Lincoln Memorial. We walked up and looked at Mr Lincoln for a bit, and then headed off to find the restaurant that was going to be feeding us for the hour or so, that we would wait until ALA had their ceremony at Freedom Plaza.

Costas, a rider from 1998 ( I think ), fed us a wonderful Greek meal. Chicken, gyros, baklava, and other goodies. Then we assembled upstairs and rode off to be officially greeted in groups of two. I rode up there with Rob and Jeffrey.

It all went by pretty quickly... we rode up E street and then we were there, and we got our medals and the whole Big Ride 2012 was over. Something that we have been striving for, and working on, day in and day out for 48 days ( and a couple more for those who got to Seattle a bit earlier and ran around getting bikes ready ), is completed.

I think I will wait a day or so, to post a final posting, but I have loved this ride. I met a wonderful group of people, and value all of them as my friends. I was loved and supported by my wife, Susan, who had to stay at home and take care of the household, and then I got to go off and ride my bicycle across our great country. I didn't have any physical problems, no bad knees, unusual aches or pains, and my butt held up just fine... sore at times, but what would one expect after some 40 days of riding ? Yep, I am blessed at the age of 62, to have been able to do this, and for all of our group to have come through healthy and safe. Yahoo !