Coast 2 Coast: The Last Post

Dereka in John in St. Augustine Florida, 30 April 2012

The final days of the ride rather collapsed on each other and it has taken me a week to get to a wrap-up.  Our next to the last day was an 80 mile ride that I was not particularly looking forward to.  Trying to stay very positive and knowing that I should savor every inch of the last two rides, I fixed my Garmin so that it did not show mileage (although it beeped politely at me every five miles so I did have some idea).  This tactic, somewhat babyish in John's opinion, was a great success.  I reached Palatka in good spirits, even overcoming the great disappointment of learning that the Dairy Queen was a further 1.3 miles-- an additional distance I was not willing to ride.

Our overnight was in an armory, thankfully air conditioned and with no nonsense about adult beverages.  The beer and wine was soon flowing freely and just as I was about to load my pictures and write my blog post, the mudslides appeared.  These were intended to soften us up for a love fest in which we recalled everything great about the ride.  All the bad cue sheets, cold showers, plugged toilets, food complaints, dust storms, ant infestations, headwinds, stomping off to hotels, flat tires and general bitching and whining were forgotten.  Everyone had funny and pleasant memories and there were tears and hugs all around.  Later, instead of being irked that we had to sleep in one big echoing room, we felt like the Waltons all snuggled up for a last night together.

The next day, only 42 miles to St. Augustine, felt like a romp and more than on any other day of the trip, the riders took things slowly, staying in groups and almost reluctant to reach the end.  On arrival in Old St. Augustine most of us had a lovely lunch on the upper balcony of the AIA Alehouse before our final few miles down to St. Augustine Beach.

I have pondered at length on why this trip seemed so full of adversity and discomfort and yet in the end both John and I feel very happy that we did it.  The tough parts have faded away almost instantly and nothing but nostalgia remains. The big, sometimes disgruntled group, became our family for 52 days.  We ate together, rode together, showered together, slept together, and because of the many clothing items provided by Bubba, we were usually dressed alike.  It is hard to accept the fact that on day 53, the members of the group all spun off in different directions-- many never to meet again.

I read recently that there are two components to happiness--  gratification and satisfaction.  It is seemingly more gratifying to sit on a comfortable couch sipping coffee and reading or watching television than it is to hike up a long, hard mountain.  But the view at the top, the pride of accomplishment and the memory of the day are richly gratifying and satisfying.  This seems the perfect analogy to our long and hard bicycle ride.  The 3000 miles that we rode, the people we rode with and the landscapes we rode through all add up to an unforgettable experience that I feel privileged to have shared with John and the other riders.  

Dereka and John in New Hampshire 9 August 2010