July 31 - Yorktown!

July 31, 2013

In the infamous words of Reese Witherspoon in “Legally Blond”, we did it!!!!

We landed in Yorktown around 2:30.  Had our picture taken at the Yorktown sign, the Victory Monument, and at the water with our front wheels in the water, the customary/traditional way to end a trip across the country.  Not sure if it has really set   in yet.  Kind of a mixed bag.  Feelings of relief, happiness, and wow we did it.  We are still waiting for the band to show up with the confetti.

The day began around 6:15.  It ended up being another 100 mile day.  Two centuries in a row. Out of Ashland, we went through Mechanicsville, pop 36,000 (of course, there were auto mechanic shops all over the city), Elko, Glendale, Charles City, Williamsburg, and then into the city of Yorktown.  Our mecca.  We were to meet along a bike trail that paralled the main road for coffee and pancake;  but no go, not open.  So we never got our café stop on the last day.  Kind if random, but yesterday, saw a school with nickname, the Flucos.  High school today called Chickahominy High School. Gas station coffee.  Not many places for services along the way, so we were all very low on walter by the end of the day.  Trail took us along the Colonial Parkway which was like riding on cobblestones.  It is actually called aggregate.  Very rough riding the last 30 miles or so.  Fitting way to end the trip.   We would have rather had mountains.  Almost.  Trail through the last part and Williamsburg was very complicated and confusing.  Even Jerry got lost once.  First time in 3,900 miles and it happened on the last day.  The ironic thing was that I helped him get back on the right path/direction.  He was my guardian angel the entire trip.  He is the best map man ever.  Besides that, the award for the toughest rider also goes to Jerry.  He’ll probably hate me for saying this, but he will be 64 in August.  All I can say is how many 64 year olds do you know that could have done what he did.  When I’m  64 (isn’t that a Beatle’s tune?), I hope I remember what he did and if I could do it at that age.  Incredible.   He got up everyday and got it done.  Kudos to my brother.

So we are staying a church that has a house for bicyclists.  We have the entire house along with another cyclist who also finished today and a $500 a night view of the Bay in Yorktown.  Life is good.  We went out to dinner to celebrate our accomplishment.  Sue had plaques made for us.  We ate at the Yorktown Pub.  Draft beer finally.  Went to Ben/Jerry’s after dinner.  While sitting outside, this band of young people comes marching down a side street playing Revolutionary times music.  They marched through the downtown/waterfront area for about 30 minutes and then disappeared back up the hill.  Very bizarre.  Had a peanut butter/banana shake.  Best ever.  Got to get the Silver Grove Dari Bar in on this one.

This will be the last blog entry. It may be a little lengthy, but I have some people to thank and some things to say.   Some members of the family are meeting us in Virginia Beach at the  end of the week for our family vacation, but I’m sure you  don’t want to hear about my time there in the blog.  We are not sure what we will do after today.  We had talked about finding a route to ride to Virginia Beach, but we are not sure if we really want to ride tomorrow.  We are a little sore and washed out.  Jack flies out on Saturday morning to make his entrance back into normal life.  As we speak, he is up the street in Yorktown helping a lady who gave us walter before, weed her garden.  I’m not kidding you.  Fruits and nuts.  He weeded for about an hour and then she invites him in to talk more about Yorktown.  Jack got her name and number so we can call her for a tour some time next week.  She also gave Jack one of her keepsake books about the history of Yorktown so we can read about the city.  He does have the silver tongue.  I guess he also gets the Good Samaritan award of the day again.

We finished the trip in 54 days.  We began on June 8.  We finished about two-three days ahead of schedoole (schedule).

Back in my first line, I mentioned that “we did it”.  Well,we is only a two letter  word, but it is a huge word in relation to this trip. 

First of all we is myself, Jerry, Jack, and Sue.  We set out on this adventure and we saw  it through.  We overcame a lot of trials and tribulations.  The dynamics of the trip changed constantly.  You put four people together for 54 days, and it is not going to be without its trials.  But we persevered and now we are in Yorktown.  When we were in Missoula back in June, we almost quit.  The trip was not what we envisioned.  There was the traffic and the weather and the camping.  I think the trip became more of a mental  challenge than a physical challenge.  But here we are in Yorktown just like we hoped we would be.  The experience is one that we will never forget.

We is also all of you who were praying for our safety and offering encouragement.  I guess it helped.  No one got hurt or injured.  We had some ailments, but nothing a few ibuprofen, ice, or A and D ointment couldn’t fix.  Maybe that’s  TMI.  I know when I was home for the Berea weekend, and we had some friends over, their interest and enthusiasm was very encouraging to me to finish.

We is all of you who donated to the MPS Society.  Last I looked it was up close to $4,000.  I was a little discouraged in the beginning at the amount, but I had to remind myself of what my goals were.   And I realize these can be tough economic times for some people and you get bombarded with charities, so I tried to keep it all in perspective.   One of my goals was to give back to the MPS Society by raising money which we did, and secondly to create more awareness for the children  and families that deal with MPS diseases every day.  I passed out some cards across the country and those of you that have been reading  the blog, I hope you have checked out the web page for the MPS Society to maybe learn a little about these “special kids”.  So, I feel good about that.  The donation page was an encouragement for me to finish.  And if people were made more aware of the MPS Society, the trip was a huge success.

We is all the people who helped Mary while I was away.  I am not going to mention names in fear of forgetting someone.  But all the spa nights that were held, and the people who  picked up Aly or watched her for Mary.  Thank you.  In the  talks that I  give for the “Everybody Counts” Program, I always refer to Aly as a ”high maintenance babe”.  Usually Mary and I share the care, but Mary had  to assume my roles also.  She requires a lot of care, and we appreciate what you have done for us.  Without you, it doesn’t happen.

We is also my family, Nicki, Becky, and Tom who helped Mary with Aly.  And offering support to me  all along the way.  And handling the web site with MPS Society.  Nicki played a big part in the promotion of the trip. Thank you all.  Your encouragement spurred me on.  It was important to me that you were proud of your dad.  I didn’t want to let you down.

And finally we is my lovely bride and wife who made this trip possible.  When we were planning this trip almost a year ago, I kept saying I shouldn’t go, but Mary said, yes you should go, it is the chance of lifetime.  Not every spouse would have done that.  I am very lucky.  And I know paybacks are hell.   But the responsibility she  took on of taking care of Aly and working full time was very difficult.  I know. She also had the grass to cut and the pool to maintain.   I had the easy job.  I  got to ride my bike every day and see the country.  It was a chance of a lifetime and an experience I will never forget.  She had the hard job.  Every time I called and talked to Mary, she never let on how difficult things really were.  She was always positive and encouraging.  She never let me know how tough things were.  She is a real trooper.  Without her willingness to take all that on, the trip would have never happened.  Thanks Mare.I can never thank you enough.  Like I said before in an earlier blog, the only thing that would have made the trip better is if you were here with me to see all  the things I saw and got to meet all the people I got to meet.

I want to thank my brothers for doing this with me.  We saw things. We met so many people. Shared experiences. And got to spend time together.  Shared a lot of laughs. We rode together for 54 days.  We experienced and saw  things we can talk about forever.  And we accomplished something nobody can ever take away from us.  And without their strength and patience and perseverance, it never would have been possible for us to finish.  They taught me a lot about camping, which I may never do again the rest of my life.  They taught me about riding and bike maintenance.  And I’m sure I am missing something.  The trip wasn’t without its issues, but like I said before, you put 3-4 people together for 54 days, every day isn’t going to be peaches and cream.  I have eaten more pancakes with them than anybody else I know.  We had joked at one time that when we get to Yorktown, we may be tempted to throw our bikes  in the bay.  Well, it all worked out.  Bikes are still dry.

I also want t thank Sue for  putting up with us and taking care of us.  She always made sure we had plenty of supplies.  Jelly  and peanut butter for our sandwiches and my crackers.  Bananas and oranges and snacks.  And she cooked for us 40 times probably.  And there were very few repeats.  We had pasta every night and she found a way to make it different each time.  And she had to find places out in the middle of nowhere for  us to stay.  And she was alone a lot.  Her job was the toughest of the four of us.  And she had to sit there every night and hear us tell stories about the things we saw and did.  She is also a real trooper.  Maybe she is actually crazier than the three of us that did the riding. Not just anyone could have done what she did.

I want to wish safety and good luck to the dozens of cyclists we saw along the way.  Hope they all make it.  And safely like we did. 

And lastly, I want to thank all of you that have been following the blog and reading about our adventure.  I enjoyed doing it.  There wasn't one time that I didn’t want to do it.  Sometimes after those 100 mile days, I was a little washed out and I’m not sure how much sense I was making, but I really enjoyed the writing.  Hope I didn’t bore you to tears.

So, I guess this is the end.  Thanks for reading

If you ever plan on doing a trip like we  did, please talk to one of us.  We had no idea what we were in for or what it would be like.  Not that we are experts, but we could give you some sound advice.

Slater (see you later)

Jeff W. Von Handorf