End of the Big Ride

Sorry these photos didn't rotate properly. I've tried twice. You get the idea!

The last two days of the ride were leisurely and hot. We went from Gettysburg to Clarksburg, MD and the Little Bennett Campground. The ride went through Frederick, MD, a nice historic downtown surrounded by ugly suburban malls and construction which then gave way to historic battlesites and beautiful countryside. We had a farewell dinner at Applebee's in Germantown, with shuttle service providing transportation from the campground. Michael Yee had spent more time in Gettysburg as a tourist and caught up with us right at the end of dinner. The post-dinner entertainment was a mock wedding ceremony incorporating elements of the ride (the dowry was expressed in camelbacks instead of camels). The service was humorous and oddly warm and intimate. Phil and Brian then shared some Big Thoughts on the Big Ride. Fitting last night.

The last day's ride in a lot of respects was one of the prettiest. Lots of huge estates, horses, historic countryside. Kathy's last water stop had to be reached by 9:30 or the riders would be sagged ahead. All were well within the time frame, although Bill had some gear problems that he solved on the fly with Jeff.

The Big Ride officially ended on August 11th, exactly as planned. The photo of the group was taken right after lunch at the Greek restaurant in the Old Post Office in DC - owned by a former Big Rider. Costas was a gracious host and donated a much-appreciated last meal for the crowd. The finish line gave family and friends the first opportunity many had had to see their rider in weeks. Very emotional. For us, it was an experience we shared, which we will always be able to refer to without long explanations. Glorious ending but not the finale to Bill's Excellent Adventure! After the finish of the ride, we went off to the hotel where many of the riders were staying and unloaded the gear truck for one final time. In our case, a lot of gear owned by ALAW was loaded back on. If I never see another 5 gallon container of Gatorade leaking on me and in my car again, I'll be happy! Messy stuff. The ham radio was taken out. Lots of time and effort for me to get my license and for the ALAW staff to install the radio. How often was it used for the ride? If you guess that it was ever used, you'd be wrong. We did get valuable weather information from the radio, but that's it.