The
final day from Orangeburg to Folly Beach was a blast, despite
the steady downpour we faced all day. Susan and Gladys found
a great church with a large covered porch for lunch. The hot
soup was again a great hit with wet riders. Most riders were
so excited to be on the final day of their cross country trek
that they hardly noticed the rain anyway.
Karen accomplished a PAC Tour first, by riding her first century
ever on PAC Tour. As a crew member, she had been riding partial
days every day, and built up the strength and courage to do
that first century.
I remember the emotion I felt last year when we reached the
coast in Virginia, and I looked around and saw this incredible
sense of accomplishment on riders faces as we rode the final
miles together. The hike down to the beach was great. Since
everyone was already soaked, most simply walked right in. This
was the hardest part about crewing for us, missing that great
emotional high at the end. We had a fabulous trip, and got in
quite a few miles, but didn't quite have that same sense of
accomplishment of riding all the way coast to coast. But the
gratitude that the riders showed to the crew did help make up
for it. I remember last year how it was the positive attitude
of the crew that often got me through, and I tried to share
that same thing with riders this year. At least I hope I did.
Well,
we are doing it again next year, as full time riders again,
this time not from coast to coast, but from border to border
as we travel through the Rockies from Mexico to Canada on PAC
Tour's Ridge of the Rockies. It does seem to be becoming an
annual trip for us, and with good reason. Lon and Susan put
on a marvelous ride. Maybe we'll see you next time.
