Portsmouth, NH - Day 52

Hi everyone from Portsmouth, NH,
Well we are finally at the last day and full of emotions, but yet feeling exhilarated!!! It is a beautiful day and we set out with bittersweet feelings. We had to alter the route due to a bridge being out, but we are all used to this kind of thing by now.
Our only SaG was at Kingston Village Market at mile 29 – here all were taking pictures and enjoying each other’s company before setting out on the last miles of our journey. The remaining miles had no hills (unlike the first half of the route) and we met at Rye Junior High for our last group picture.




The staff joined us on the last three miles as we were escorted by the local police to the beach for the “Wheel Dipping Ceremony”. I will never forget those three miles with the sirens going and all of us expressing our feelings with whoops and hollers!

The beach was extremely crowded because the northeast has not had much beach weather yet this summer. As we rode through the parking lot and found our families, we were all filled with congratulations for each other and stopped to remove our shoes to walk down to the Atlantic Ocean to dip our front wheels to complete the adventure. We shared a glass of champagne on the beach and took many pictures before departing our separate ways.


My family and friends surprised me with the number of people who came – many of them many miles in the car to share the moment with me. Perry, Joanne, Brent, Karen, Missy, Randy, Nancy, Beth, Diana, Bobbi, Tammy, Roni, Dan, Kelly, Dave, and Graham all drove many miles. I was really surprised at my family’s efforts to make a quilt to commemorate the trip.




Many riders rode on across the bridge into Kittery, Maine to add another state to their list of states they have ridden in. My group headed back to the hotel so I could shower and then we all headed out to the Portsmouth Brewery on Market St. for some celebratory food and drink. I loved that table – it was huge!!!
After everyone left except Beth and Diana (who were taking me home) and my friend Nancy, I took an hour to relax before we headed back into downtown Portsmouth for a time to sit outside and have some coffee and enjoy the atmosphere. This was followed by a meal down on the waterfront (I had a lobster roll) and then some of the best icecream!
Tomorrow we will start early on the long ride back to Gettysburg, Pa. and I will end this blog with a summary in a few days.