Day 22 - Crystal City, VA to Annapolis, MD - 49 miles, 2000 feet ascent
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
~ The Doors “The End”
Today provided a fitting denouement to a journey three weeks in the making. Twelve-hundred and twenty-one miles and over 32,000 feet of climbing was nothing compared to the crowd celebrating our arrival around Bill the Goat. We had crowds cheering us along at the corner of King George and Baltimore Boulevard. The sight of the Naval Academy Chapel dome brought comfort to weary riders who bested Florida boredom and crummy South Carolina weather. We raised over $160,000 for our causes, much of it since departing Apalachicola. Tomorrow some of you may pick up a copy of the Capital Gazette and find us on the font page. We might even get a write-up in the Daily Shipmate. Nothing can compare to the sweet relief of climbing Herndon, but this comes close. This was our final stage along the Champs-Élysées. We maintained a slower average speed enjoying moments of tranquility as rode through parts of the District and into Maryland.
The morning started with the usual back-up along the 14th Street Bridge going across the Potomac. We had a front row seat from the luxurious Double Tree Hotel in Crystal City of the traffic and a beautiful Potomac sunrise. No matter how many times you see the monuments’ reflection on the water, it never fails to inspire. Nineteen riders shoved off at 0800 and stayed together throughout the entire ride. Moving a group of this size through intersections, trails, and urban neighborhoods presented myriad challenges, but today we made it work. Even two flat tires would not deter us from our objective. Of the monuments on the Washington DC mall, we only passed the Jefferson before making our way out to the Anacostia River which we followed for the next twelve miles. This is an amazingly pleasant trail and highly recommended to anyone looking for a scenic bicycling adventure in the DC area. All the acorns in the world scattered across cycleways would not stop us even as our tires ground them into butter. Closed bridges, no problem. Unused roads, bring it on; pedaling closer to Annapolis brought lifted spirits with each passing mile. The end was in sight.
Annapolis’ finest covered our final miles with a police escort; they did a great job and we felt like kings rolling through town under the cover of blue rolling lights. A final muster at Hubbard Hall and we were off for a rare ride through ceremonial grounds past the Chapel to Tecumseh Court where we had a coincidental meeitng with the Superintendent Lieutenant General Borgschulte’ 91 who welcomed ’75 to their Fifty-Year Reunion. From there we paraded down Porter Road to our ultimate destination, Bill the Goat in front of Lejeune Hall. Mike and Murph made remarks. Mike Meynard, Jay, Carl, Jeff, and Gary presented checks on behalf of the Gulf to Goat team. Families embraced, friends were reunited. Bill the Goat may have received an application of Chamois Butt’r.
Tomorrow we will not ride. There will be no morning routine, no living out of a suitcase. No scrounging for coffee, no waffles, no bag drag, and no group photo before getting underway. The class of 1975 will launch into its 50th Reunion and we wish them a joyous weekend. When the dust settles and we have all returned home, hopefully all will look back on this experience with the fondness shared by those who bested a daunting challenge. This journey was so much bigger than the miles, the headwinds, the weather, the questionable hotels, the irregular diet, or the physical demands, it was the chance to once again become something so much larger than ourselves.
Thank you to all who supported our journey in deeds big and small. Thank you to everyone who donated time and treasure to our charities. Thank you to everyone who kept up with us through this journal. Thank you to our families and friends who made this possible. Mission Accomplished. Go hard. GO NAVY!