Boston!!!

Friday June 26th, Burlington, MA to Boston, MA, 17 miles

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end- Ernest Hemingway

I guess today is as close as I'll ever get to feeling like the riders on the final day of the Tour de France when they (more or less) ceremoniously ride thru the streets of Paris.  We were sent off at 7:00 am this morning, two by two, from the hotel, cheered on by our families and friends to complete the short 17 mile ride to Revere Beach in Boston.  Approximately 3 miles from the Beach we reassembled to end our Tour together in formation, in front of our families and friends who had hustled in cars to be in position to greet us.  What a magical feeling, 3400 miles completed, sea to shining sea!  What a country!

After a number of hugs we all carried our bikes across the sand to the Atlantic Ocean to get the payoff photo ops!  We then reassembled for a few group photos on the boardwalk.

After returning to the hotel, cleaning my bike and getting it ready for shipping back to Maryland, the family rode back into town.  We had a nice lunch together before taking the Fenway Park tour.  I had seen a couple of Red Sox games before at the Park but it was fun and interesting to learn more about the historic baseball stadium.

This evening we had a celebratory dinner at the hotel.  With the guests and staff we had around one hundred attendees.   Again the stories were very inspirational and it was wonderful to have my family with me to share in my experience.

A link to the my just completed fifty day 2015 Cross Country Tour Itinerary follows:

https://riders.crossroadscycling.com/wp-content/Library/02_2015_Itinerary.pdf

My riding buddy Jim from western Mass. and me at the start of the last day.

The very final pedal strokes to end the 3,400 mile journey

Drew and Ben after the ride with their really skinny Dad

Done!

With Maggie, an amazingly tenacious woman from Great Britain

With Peter, a most congenial and fun guy to be around

At Revere Beach:  Back row: Ted from FL, Lori from FL, Will from Great Britain, Maggie from Great Britain, Steve from IL, Mike from TX, Craig from CT, Ron from TX, Richard from CA.  Front row:  Joanne from CA, Mark from IL, Cynthia from AZ, Matt from MD, Jim from MA, Peter from CA,  Damian from New Zealand, Don from WI, Bob from AZ, and Liam from Scotland.  Missing:  Mary Jo from OH (a sectional rider) and Jim from VA.

Kari  during the Fenway Park tour (above the "Green Monster"),  she was too busy taking the photos to properly get into any at the Beach.