Day 63 / The Last Ride and Celebrating

I made it!!! A final 63 miles and there it was the Pacific Ocean. I didn't cry, I thought I was. It actually felt really weird I didn't know how to wrap my head around it. So much pain and time and it was finally over. Now I don't know what to do with myself when I wake up in the morning haha!

My parents flew out and Matthew Newcomer drove down from Portland to watch me finish. And of course my 3rd SAG driver Joe led me to the finish line. If it weren't from him and my other SAG drivers I'd still be out there biking. So we biked into the town of Florence where Matthew popped into a small donuts and deli shop and the owners were so nice they gave us a whole box of free donuts to celebrate! Thanks Big Dog Donuts and Deli!! My dad also bought some champagne and beer for the finish.

This will be my last blog post so I guess I should try to sum up the experience. So what all did I learn? Erase the word unrealistic from your vocabulary. People told me I wasn't being 'realistic', I wanted to say you're right and I like it that way. Why be realistic when you can be extraordinary? Only those willing to go too far can possibly find out how far one can go. Push yourself and never give in to pain or adversity and you'll surprise yourself on where your limits truly lie. I have decided to take my experience and all my thoughts and put it down on paper. I wrote along the way and now I'm going to put my notes together in a book. Biggest lesson I learned which lead to the title of the book: You'll never know what you'll find, who you'll meet or what you'll learn until you JUST DO SOMETHING!

One last thing, embrace those who support you and forget everyone else. Thank you my friends and family and brothers. All of you made this possible. Special shout out to Chris Gassman. There's no way I'd be where I am today if you didn't push me to always be better. You always say what I have to hear even if I don't like it sometimes. You're a mentor, a brother and a role model. Thank you. To the chapters that housed me and showed me experiences I'll never forget thank you so much. Can't wait to see you all again someday. Mom and Dad Carolynn and Sean, love you all.

REFUSE MEDIOCRITY! Thank you Zach Miller for the inspiration to start a dream and accomplish it. This was all because of you. I think it's time you wake up buddy.

Champagne haha!

Winery!

Winery view

These goofballs picking Joe and I up at the airport

Joe and I celebrating!

Matt Newcomer!!

Day 61 / Mckenzie Pass and a Familiar Face

Yesterday I did the most beautiful century ride of my life. I climbed up to 5325 ft and then descended all the way down to 400 ft. I also got to see Matthew Newcomer a friend from home on his motorcycle outside of the town of Sisters. It was awesome to see another familiar face so far from home, what a small world! Today joe and I are taking a day off in Eugene and we deserve it after 1200+ miles 16 days straight. Tomorrow we ride to the Pacific! I can't believe this trip is coming to an end. What a wild ride its been. I've pushed myself to the limit and threw myself at Mother Nature. She hasn't been kind but I used the pain to push me further and here I am. After 61 days I biked from Dewey Beach Delaware to Eugene Oregon. 61 miles left to bike before I can officially say I rode my bicycle across America! 

Me with Matt's motorcycle haha 

Day 60 / Snow Mountains

Today was a long long long day. 96 miles with absolutely nothing to look at until the very end. Wind in my face and 97 degree weather. Also got another flat tire today but no big deal I'm a pro at changing them now. My body and my bike are both reaching their limits, but it's time to click it into high gear and finish this thing. Under 200 miles left. Bend Oregon is a beautiful place and I'm happy to have made it here. Enjoy these pictures.

"prehistoric river"

Days 58 + 59 / Oregon isn't going to let me off easy

Well, the past two days have been really tough. With temperatures 100+ and climbing hills 1000-1200 ft at a time, the last state is making it a challenge to finish. Today the temp got to 106 and I started off the day climbing a beast of a hill- 1200+ft with its summit at 4800 ft. But tomorrow I'll be in Bend OR then the next day Eugene OR. Although its been a tough few days I'm getting real close now. Here are pictures from yesterday and today. Oh and I passed into another time zone yesterday, officially on pacific time!

This mornings first 5 miles was climbing this

At the summit

Halfway up

Winding through mountains

Its so hot I passed a wildfire...

The beauty of eastern Oregon

Day 57 / Oregon the last state

Made it to Oregon today! The heat out here is blazing. The past two days have been 102 and it's only supposed to get worse, calling for 108 on Tuesday. I'm forced to get up early and get on the bike as quick as possible before the heat hits. I can't believe it but I will be biking onto the Pacific Ocean on Saturday July 6th. At this point I'm really not sure how to think about what I have experienced. It's been a long way. The U.S. is actually extremely large haha. 

What have I learned so far? Don't bike near geese. West Virginia is in fact wild and wonderful. It's windy as hell in Wyoming. Iowa is not flat and actually produces more corn than Nebraska. Put more than the recommended amount of cream on to avoid chafing (you probably didn't need to hear that one). It's not possible to replace 5000 calories in one sitting, no matter how hard you try. Indiana and Illinois are both full of crop fields with a grid of roads running through it. Idaho really does smell like potatoes. And Ohio well Ohio is just Ohio. 

But I have also learned that you never know what you'll find or who you'll meet. I shared experiences with some great people that I hope to see again someday. Sometimes it would be hard to leave a place because I wanted to get to know the people there more. 

Anyway I know that I'm not quite finished yet but I'm close now and I'm starting to feel it. I can't help but to begin to reflect on all of this. I just barely scratched the surface on what I've been through. This Saturday when I pull up on the beach I can guarantee I will cry like a little girl. So if anyone wants to watch that in person fly out to Eugene Oregon. If not I'm sure there will be a video thanks to my mom and dad. Speaking of mom and dad without their support this wouldn't have been possible to thanks and I love you guys. 

Remember it's like Zach would say: REFUSE MEDIOCRITY. If this isn't proof that you can accomplish your dreams I don't know where else you'll find it. 

Crossing the Oregon-Idaho border 

Day 56 / Boise Idaho!

Made it to Boise today! Been going 11 days straight now since Cheyenne Wyoming. I'll be rolling into Oregon tomorrow my last state! Only about 500 miles left to go.

Biked through more desert today:

Boise

Started the day by climbing this monster

Canyons

Planning to finish next Sunday July 6th!! It's unreal, been a long journey.

Days 54 + 55 / Back to the desert and it's HOT

So yesterday and today the landscape has progressively switched back to desert. And today was the high point of this record setting heat wave, 102 degrees! I still managed to do 88 miles in 4 hours and 45 minutes, not too bad. Not too many pictures to share everything looks the same, you aren't missing much. Tomorrow I'll be in Boise and then the next day I'll be in Oregon!! Under 600 miles to go now and I passed to 3,000 mile mark.

Flat Tire number 2....

"Snake River"

Random pond with a pelican