Day 45: The Final Exam

101.87 mi max 48.0 7:42.46 avg 13.2

Once again, another perfect day for riding. 75 and sunny, that's what I like to hear. The ride reminded me very much of home - lots of green, farms & trees & hills. There were some steep climbs in the morning. We crossed the Appalachian Trail on Rt. 30, about 12-13 miles outside of Gettysburg...there was also a very sweet downhill into town. I liked that.

Christy's bike is having issues again; this time, her derailleur cable snapped. She is so good at being even-tempered.

The end was very nice, too, right at Gettysburg Middle School. Some of last year's riders came out and prepared lots of food for us. There was a party, too, at the pub in town. Now that we've completed "the final exam" ride - our last really tough day, our last century of the ride - now, we are starting to feel like the end might actually happen. I think that there's a mixture of excitement because soon we'll all be going to see our friends and/or family...but also a sense of loss, because we've created our own pseudo-family. It is highly unlikely that we will all be together again as a group. Sure, we'll make those gratuitous promises to stay connected, but will we? (I'll definitely keep in touch...cultivating spare rooms and back yards is a great way to travel across the country! There's always space in my house for friends, too!!)