The Eagle has landed. My TransAmerica cycling adventure has come to a close.

I rolled in to virtual St Augustine today after 47 days, 3030 miles and 1,189,000 pedal strokes.

My journey which began March 20 has come to a close. I got to dip my tire in the Virtual Atlantic Ocean in Anastasia State Part in St Augustine and celebrate with a glass of Florida’s Natural Orange Juice. (It seemed appropriate)

I confess it’s bitter-sweet ending . Bitter in that I could not do the real ride and experience the regional flavors due to Covid but Sweet in that I achieved many of the goals I set for myself. I’m also somewhat saddened that this blog has come to an end.

I was fortunate that I had a friend drop in to join me for a big chunk of my last day’s ride. AND he brought celebratory beer. Wow, was that perfect. Thanks Greg

I planned my ride to end at San Xavier del Bac Mission to watch the sunset and give thanks for a successful journey and that my recovery from my heart and ankle issues allowed me to do this.

When I started the pseudo ride I said I wanted to challenge myself physically, mentally, and test my will power. I achieved all this. In fact, there only thing in question for me was “how early will I finish”.

I also said that I wanted to see if I could escape the voices in my head and could prove that a 68 year old with heart disease can take on this kind of challenge. Again, mission accomplished

I also had two other reasons for doing the ride that I had kept to myself.

First, I wanted this to be an object lesson for my daughter, Katie. I wanted to show her that if you believe in yourself and are committed you can accomplish more than you imagine. I know Katie has that same competitive spirit as I do, but wrapped in a much kinder package. I also know she is a relentless worker and tenacious when she sets her mind to something. I’m certain she will accomplish great things because she takes things on for “the love of it” and not necessarily to gain recognition.

The second reason I took on this ride is that 2020 is the 50th anniversary of my high school graduation. In high school I set a goal to have basketball be my ticket to college. In 1970 I received All State honors and offers from several small colleges. I ultimately chose Kalamazoo College. My reason was that K was one of the top small colleges in the Midwest academically. It was also the oldest in the State and the most expensive. I knew basketball was not my future but a good education would be vital. I was over matched in the classroom but labored away just like on this bike ride. I graduated in 4 years with no debt, having studied in Europe, written my undergrad thesis, and passed my written and oral comprehensive exams.

I’m sharing this with you not to brag about what I did because it’s no big deal. But it does emphasize the importance of goal setting and committing the effort to accomplish them.

I set goals all through my work career and life that provided my road map. I committed them to writing. It gave me a focus and candidly I was able to achieve most all. My regret, is that the goals I set which I thought were a stretch perhaps could have been more aggressive.

Now that I’m retired(sort of). I still feel the need to set goals. This is my reason for getting up in the morning.

We all need a purpose. This is what makes life worth living. If you don’t have goals or a purpose you kind of just muddle through life (in my opinion).

So what’s my next goal? Well, I’m thinking I need to ride 100 miles this year for each year I’ve been alive. This will be 6,900 miles and I have a great start.

Also Larry is doing the TransAmerica ride next April. It might be nice to compare the pseudo ride to the real thing. I have a lot of other personal non-athletic goals

I’m considering a book about my life for my daughter for instance. Who knows? But you can bet there will be something.

I’m available and looking for my next adventure😉. If you want to read a fun book. Pick up “The Adventures of Goodnight and Loving”. It’s a story about a guy who loses his job, is kicked out by his wife and finds himself in an ongoing series of humorous adventures. I guarantee you will like it!

The following is a short list of supplies, etc I went through on my ride.

4 continental 4000 tires

8 Kenda 700×23 tubes

4 tubes of Neosporin

2 tubes of Chamois butt’r

Two tubes of 50+ sunblock

100 gallons of water during and post riding

2 boxes of Jelly Belly Sport beans

1 case of Kiltlifter Scottish Ale

1 twelve pack of Modelo Negra

60 bottles of Snapple peach tea

8 gallons of orange juice

1/2 bottle of excedrin

I had one rain day and 5 days over 100 degrees.

Also I had no issues with traffic figuratively or virtually. Often when I stopped for water breaks drivers would check to see I was ok.

I had 48,000 feet of ascent compared to 78,000 for the real ride. But I also had strong winds for at least 1/3 of the 46 days and typically 60% of each ride was into a headwind or crosswind. So based on the calculations I shared in an early post I am confident I met the climbing equivalent of the real ride.

I had no real issues physically other than the saddle sores. I only had leg cramps 4 or 5 times at night and mustard and pickles took care of that. Frankly, I could keep on going but I need to attend to things I have put off for the past 46 days. Like shaving for instance.

Finally, here is my ride schedule for the last 2 weeks.

I also need to recognize the person who was My shuttle service, chef, and moral support among many things. My wife of 41 years, Barb. Thanks honey, I love you.

In closing, I want to thank you again for your support. Hope you enjoyed sharing my little adventure, vicariously.

Finally: