7/26/14

DAY 29 - THE FINISH

Well-fed and well-rested, we woke up to a great breakfast at our (last!) hotel and hit the road pretty early.


We knew we wanted to hit the beach at around 11:30, which meant we'd have to get moving quickly and take few stops. Luckily, the roads were pretty calm as we found our way through the suburbs west of Boston. The temperature and wind were perfect for the last morning of riding and the scenery, while more familiar, was beautiful.


With the adrenaline building and our bike computers tracking the mileage, we took only one break at around halfway back to Boston. The 30 miles seemed easy, and we were even surprised by Don's mother's cousin, Janet, who was waiting for us on the side of route 117 at the perfect place to stop! She flagged us down and gave us some bottles of cold water that were very appreciated.


After meeting her, we continued along 117, passing under I-95 to route 20. The territory started looking very familiar to us from our rides around Boston that we took before the trip.


As soon as we hit the Charles, we knew we were close to home and started hitting landmarks that reminded us how close we were. The Pru came into view, and we rode alongside the river before crossing into Boston on the Mass Ave bridge.


Straight down Mass Ave to Boylston, we took a quick stop for a photo in Copley Square and then were on our way to Southie and the beach!


An enthusiastic welcome party awaited us right at the end of Broadway, and we rode past the statue straight to the beach. Our welcome party was happy to follow us down, and took some wonderful photos of us at the water.






We're happy we made it, and thankful for all the support that we got along the way from everyone. The people who hosted us at their houses were all so terrific, and the people we met along the way made the trip even more fun and exciting. And the support from afar - whether it was phone calls, comments on this blog, encouraging text messages, or even asking a friend to let us stay at their house along our route - we appreciate all of it. Thank you!