Tuesday, July 22nd: Portsmouth, NH

After 4075 Miles

And so ......... the end!  The last day was very much a dawdling sort of day, billed as 62 miles to the Rye Junior High School, where we were asked to arrive by 1130, in order that we could link up with the police cars, whose job it was to escort us to the beach for the traditional wheel-dipping in the Atlantic (for the purists: the front wheel, since it had been the rear wheel in the Pacific). 

Along the way my peloton of four toured the very well-heeled town of Exeter, where there was a vast manicured campus for a mere 700 prep students.  A final visit to a coffee shop/bakery

Last Latte : Fred, Gary & Wayne

used up a few more of the many minutes we had to spare. 

One or two riders missed the deadline by a minute or ten, but it didn't matter one bit; the police cars did not seem to be in any rush.  Many families and friends, some expected and some not, were at Wallis Sands State Beach to watch us arrive.  The grockles on the sands also seemed to enjoy the spectacle, and could be seen interrogating riders about what they had been doing.

With Wayne at Beach

After half an hour or so of pleasantries, seven of us backtracked a mile or so along the shoreline to a seafood restaurant for lunch.  The motel was about another 8 miles or so away from Rye, in the heart of Portsmouth.  On arrival at the motel, the major practicalities (boxing the bike obviously the chief among these) had to be taken care of before thinking

The VERY End

1 comment

 about getting cleaned up for a bite to eat for dinner.  My lot took a cab down town.  Our final farewells would be at breakfast tomorrow morning, or, for those using Boston Airport, at Logan as we get off the AbB shuttle, scheduled to leave Portsmouth at 0700. 

Mileage today : 68

Final Total : 4075

Team Photo at Finish