Day 50 - The Atlantic Ocean

43 Miles / Day 50 of 50 / Suffolk, VA to Ocean View Beach Park, VA

Thank you Alexa, Rose, and Brad for welcoming us home as we hit the Atlantic. Thank you to everyone for the love and support along the way.

Jack and I are going to take some time off of the bike to catch our breathe, we'll make one final post soon. Thanks for reading the blog and being part of the adventure.

One love.

Day 49 - Weldon, NC to Suffolk, VA

70 Miles / Day 49 of 50 / Weldon, NC to Suffolk, VA

We woke up to Donnell getting ready for work, he's been teaching summer school the past two months in Weldon. Talk about a nice way to start the day. We hadn't seen Don since the school year ended and we caught up on life until he had to leave for work around 7:30 pm. Shout out to Donnell for teaching over his break. FTK baby.

We went back to sleep and caught a little more rest before waking up for good and getting ready to ride our second to last day on the bike. Time flies.

Lesson #92: There are no secrets in a small town. Always trust your teachers.

We stopped at the Rockfish Grill (Weldon claims to be the "Rockfish Capital of the World") and we're approached by a high school student -

"You guys the ones riding tha bikes all across America?"
"Yup."
"I knew it! Mr. Cannon my summer school teacher told us about you all, but we didn't believe him for a minute. Guess he was really telling the truth."

10 down, 70 miles to the ocean.

We crossed the border back into Virginia in the midafternoon and rode another 30 miles to the Davis Lake Campground.

We loaded up on our last gas station dinner of the trip (shout out to 7 Eleven) and pigged out on sugary snacks while we sat on the beach as the sunset and took a second to take a deep breathe and think back over the past 7 weeks.

Fixing Jack's spoke for the last time.

\Total counts between Jack and I, new tires = 3, new tubes = 14, new spokes = 11. Here's to seeing the finish line tomorrow.

Lesson #93: The more comfortable you are with yourself the more willing you are to extend help to other people.

Your outlook on the world determines how you interact and treat the people around you. We blame the environment and/or people around us for how we act but it's our outlook that determines our actions.

The more comfortable and secure you are with yourself the less you view the world and people as threats. The less threatening you perceive the world to be the more you're willing to stretch and put yourself out there.

When Jack and I are asking random strangers for help it's not about how we approach them, something special we say, or anything like that. All we can do is be ourselves.

The more time and effort Jack and I spend talking to people and making the ask for help the more likely we are to connect with someone who is willing to take time out of their day, put themselves out there, and help us.

Shoutout to the people in our lives who have given us this life where we can go on a ride like this. Shoutout to the people we have met and continue to meet along the way who are willing to help us and make this ride happen.

It was the perfect way to end our last night.

Thank you to Don for the place to crash last night.

Last post!

The next time we post we'll have finished our 3,8000 mile trek from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. We just wanted to take a minute to reflect and thank you all for your love, encouragement, kind words and support. Without so many loved ones helping us and cheering for us along the way, there's no way we would have finished this dream!

We'll be finishing on Tuesday, July 30 at 3 p.m. at Ocean View Beach Park in Norfolk, VA. If you are in the area or would like to spend a fun day at the beach, we'd love to see you there at the finish line.

Again, so much love has been showed to us this trip and we are incredibly grateful. Cheers to the finish.

Day 48 - Oxford, NC to Weldon, NC

65 Miles / Day 48 of 50 / Oxford, NC to Weldon, NC

I woke up late this morning after sleeping in my own bed (!) and Seth waking up even later. First day all trip that we didn't set an alarm. (You know we're getting close when...)

We hung out with the group in the morning and Kasey decided to join us for part of our ride today. We loved every minute of it, as Kasey has become an avid biker and it was great to get some company for the day. Kasey's the only guy on our trek who's ridden with us. We had a great day!

We took back roads to Henderson, where I teach and actually biked right by my school. Glad that I don't have to be back there for three more weeks :) We biked right by Seth's old house as well as his high school. Talk about surreal.

After we left Henderson (12 miles in) it started down pouring and we got drenched for about 15-20 miles. Like soak you to the bone wet.

We stopped in Warrenton, where Seth teaches, for some Chinese food and Kasey bid adieu to us as he was biking back to Oxford for the day.

It dried up and Seth and I really hit the miles hard. We were on flat pavement and good weather so we were straight cruising. Additionally, we only had 60ish miles to do today as we have no huge mileage days remaining (we are finishing slower as to enjoy our final miles) and we got to Weldon early. We're crashing with our teaching friend, Donnell tonight in Weldon. Thanks for the crib, Don!

Day 47 - Stoneville, NC to Oxford, NC

96 Miles / Day 47 of 50 / Stoneville, NC to Oxford, NC

Today was a milestone for us in a way. It was our last big mileage day of our journey!

When we rerouted our trip, we knew we were going to have a few days with big miles in order to reach our goal of finishing by the 30th, and this was the last of them.

What made this day so great though was knowing our end destination. We'd be staying at my house tonight and have the opportunity of some great friends visiting us and catching up on what we've all done with our summers, so we were anxious to get home.

After another night of sleeping by a basketball court (I'm sensing a theme here) we awoke early to crank the mileage out.

It's been fantastic being able to introduce new parts of NC to Seth. I've been here for the last 5 years and have been fortunate to see most areas of the state. Seth just finished his first year in NC so it's great to see him excited for new places and new terrain.

We stopped for breakfast at Dick's Drive In in Eden, NC. After a wonderful breakfast, we started talking to the owners of the restaurant--they've been there for over 50 years!--and shared what an incredible journey we've had. They gave us free t-shirts to remember them by and to commemorate our trip.

Lesson # 90: People are still interested in our story. Don't be afraid to share it with them.

We worked our way East through the Piedmont on US 158 all day and started to see signs for Oxford about 30 miles out.

We flew the last 30 miles and arrived at home around 4:30. It was really a crazy feeling biking on the roads that I spent so much time training for this very opportunity.

Lesson #91: Family over everything.

Roommates Brad and Kasey were home and welcomed us with open arms. Again, it was surreal being home again after being gone for so many weeks.

Our friend Krista joined us, as did Shane and Clara (shout out to Shane and Clara, avid blog readers, I know you're reading this. So thanks.)

We had a great night cooking, laughing and catching up. It is pretty special to have such a great group of friends after one short year together teaching in NC. We are truly blessed.

Day 46 - Sparta, NC to Stoneville, NC

86 Miles / Day 46 of 50 / Sparta, NC to Stoneville, NC

We woke up ready to roll and realizing how close to the end we really are. 4 days. Still doesn't make sense or really feel like we're in North Carolina.

We climbed through last of Appalachian Mountains and made it as we descended through the foothills.

Today's route had us going through Mt. Airy. Mt. Airy is the town that inspired Mayberry and the beloved Andy Griffith Show. To all the Andy and Opie fans out there we ate lunch at the Bluebird Diner.

Lesson #89: North Carolina shows the love.

No bias here - there has been a noticeable difference between North Carolina and the other 9 states we've biked through so far. People are patient on the road, give us space, and seem to be looking out for our best interests. (Three cars stopped in a 90 second period to see if we needed help when we were fixing Jack's broken spoke) Thank you for showing the love NC. We got us.

A mere 10,700 feet lower than the Western Continental Divide.

We biked through the afternoon heat and struck gold. You know those once in a lifetime ideas? Jack had one. We talked about children's book ideas and ideas for next what could make the next great Pixar movie. We'd tell you all the details but you'll see it on the big screen soon enough. Jack and I figured out by the time we sell the rights to Pixar, cash out, and they actually animate and make the film it'll be about the Spring of 2015. Payday baby.

We pedaled into Stoneville and had our classic dinner of milk & cereal and cheese & crackers from Dollar General. We asked around for a place to camp and we're coming up empty handed. When in doubt, find the police. We found the police chief and he gave us permission to camp in the park at the edge of town. The gates lock at night but he said we were welcome to stay there.

Ball is life.

We set up our tent on the outdoor stage overlooking basketball court.

We found an old soccer ball and shot hoops with it for a good 2 hours. We were in heaven. Ball is life.

The end is near.

Day 45 - Damascus, VA to Sparta, NC

68 Miles / Day 45 of 50 / Damascus, VA to Sparta, NC

Thank you to "The Place" for the shower and place to stay. We packed up our bikes on the front porch and talked to two Appalachian Trail hikers about their adventures. Their parting words. America has become a fascist state where the corporations control the government  and society. Nothing like a little light talk to start the day at 6:30 am in the morning.

We left Damascus embarking on our last big climb of the trip. You read that right. The final passage of sorts. 2000 feet of vertical climb in about 20 miles. Lets get it.

The climb up was gorgeous. We intersected the Appalachian Trail multiple times as we zig-zagged up the mountains and alongside the Dan River.

We were about 4 miles from the top when we stopped for a Gatorade at a roadside homemade rest stop.

Lesson #88: "I'd rather build something useful that sit my life away on the porch."

Ronald Regan (yes) had built a rest stop for bikers (motorcycle focused) high in the Appalachian Mountains. It was a self-made paradise that had fee camping, a stage for show, a renovated RV, and a cabin (both for rent for $10 a night). Ronald had built the cabin out of old recycled shipping pallets. A true innovator at heart. All profit that Ronald makes goes to the Wounded Warriors project to support injured veterans.

Jack and Ronald Regan.

Just as we finished the climb we crossed the border into NC. Home at last.

9 down, 1 to go.

We enjoyed the downhill of the other side of the mountain and turned to go off of Adventure Cycling maps. We were going rouge from here to Virginia Beach. Less mileage, fewer climbs, and being able to bike through our home state instead of Virginia is what inspired the re-route.

Getting directions. Lost. And soon to be, thanks to David, found.

We rode into Sparta at sunset and ate dinner at the Brown Box Cafe. Dinner and a hotel room had been given to us by Pastor Bruce from First Methodist Church. We called him a few days earlier to ask if we could sleep in the church basement and he did us one better. Thank you for the generosity.