Hard to say goodbye

Aaron and I met lots of incredible people all along the trip that we would like to have spent more time in their company. Inevitablly the two of us had to move on to continue our journey. Those goodbyes we're not always easy but as we departed I always had the pleasure of Aaron's good spirited energy and conversation. Today's departure without him brought home the finality of our cross country adventure. Aaron had offered me a car ride to the Amtrak station. I thought the best medicine for post-adventure blues would be to ride my bike and gear to the train station. It was sad to load the bike one last time with Rick, Steve and Aaron's family and friends there to send me off.  By saying goodbye early it gave me all day on the bike to come to terms with the end of the trip. I got a bit emotional when I saw my 1st Volkswagen "Slug Bug" and couldn't call it out.  The 1st convience store rest stop was sad too. It felt like any moment Aaron would roll and put in his usual chocolate milk and Red Bull request but obviously he never appeared so after I finished my snack and waited for a few cyclists that road by to get far enough ahead (wasn't in the mood to chat with strangers today) I left the store alone.

The dose of exercise, views of the Atlantic Ocean and fresh ocean air did help to uplift the spirits.  I also had the distraction of my rear wheel falling apart. The 1st spoke broke about 5 miles into the ride. I fixed it with a fiber spoke repair kit. Then 25 miles later another spoke popped. I still had 28 miles to go and with a severe wobble wasn't too confident the wheel would make it the rest of the way.  I looked up a local bike shop in Jacksonville Beach and luckily the Trek store was only 2 miles away and right on the route.  After unhooking the rear brake because of the wheel rubbing on the pads, I pedaled gingerly to the store leaning my weight on the front wheel.  The mechanic quickly repaired the wheel when I told him about the train I had to catch.  After 30 minutes the wheel was fixed.  My destination was due West of the shop and I caught a break with a strong tail wind all the way to the station.  I was relieved to arrive without any further mechanical trouble and 90 minutes early.

This overall trip experience was incredible and I'm so greatful for all the kind people we met that helped to support our efforts during the journey.   I'm also overwhelmed by the support of all the family, friends and co-workers back home that encouraged and allowed me to take this dream adventure.  I can't put to words how much this support and caring means to me.