Total miles: 229.8
We awake and hear zippers, low voices at 6:30. I look into J’s eyes and we giggle and go back to sleep. Heaven!
We finally wake up for real around 8. We slowly emerge from the tent and are pleased that we don’t have to scramble to get things packed up and get on the road. We see our group getting up as well and formulate a plan for breakfast in the only open restaurant in town. We walk over and wonder how the bikers are feeling on this last, optional ride. I feel such relief to not be riding today. It’s beyond words.
The breakfast is delicious: it’s served to us hot, instead of plating up in line, and the coffee is flowing. We all finally get to talk uninterrupted and get to know each other better. I think this meal lasts 2-3 hours and we are all full and happy. Eddy wisely states that no matter how much we eat, our bodies are still in high gear and we will have burned all those calories by the time we walk back to camp.
The day moves slowly, but soon it’s time to put our bikes on the van and get our gear ready for the bus back to Whitefish. I am looking forward to this simply because we’ll get to see our trip in reverse. After waiting and one more huckleberry ice cream, we finally pile into the bus and our journey home begins. I snap a picture of the two of us and we notice how tired we look. We are still energized, but exhausted. The bus ride back is quiet, with some oohs and aahs as we see places we were, high trails, rolling hills, beautiful from this vantage point and locked into our memories.
We arrive in Whitefish and shuttle people to their hotels. The goodbyes begin, but our group of 7 still isn’t ready to leave. J and I have a 3-hour drive home, but we still need to eat dinner, so we all decide to have one last meal together. We meet downtown and end up in a very loud bar/restaurant where we can watch highlights of the Tour de France for the day. We eat, drink, laugh, tell stories and decide to attempt to ride together again.
Goodbye new friends. You helped make this trip special, certainly more fun.
We arrive home in the quiet that comes after midnight. We still have smiles on our faces as our bodies are shutting down. We unload the truck, giddy and full of great memories. Was this trip more than we expected? Yes, by a mile. Did it kick our butts, yes, at times, but we persevered. I have never slept so well in a tent, never has a shower been so delightful, never has my body been pushed so far in such a short time. There’s one even bigger accomplishment that I’ve gained from this whole experience: I can lift my bike by myself to hang it from its hook in the garage. I have changed: I truly am strong.
1 comment:
as i clicked this open to read, i hesitated.."last day" ... like a good novel, i don't want it to end.
what an incredible journey. and like you said, you are strong. and yet, the woman who left on this unknown adventure, is not the same woman who returned.
love you sister...you are strong, inside and out.
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