Bethesda, Maryland

Knowing that today would be our last ride of the summer is mind blowing. To think that we rode our bikes from the Golden Gate Bridge all the way to Maryland still hasn't hit me, except when I try to get out of bed every morning and I cant stand up because my legs are so sore. I was glad to have my bike fixed and ready to go, so after getting dressed, loading up the luggage in the vehicles, and eating breakfast it was time to make our way to Bethesda. We had our circle up and it felt a little bit different than usual. Today was the last time we would be going on a long ride together, and you could feel everyone was on edge because of it. Nick explained that we had about 70 miles into Bethesda, and other than a few rolling hills we wouldn't be climbing too much. Someone volunteered to do the Disability of the Day and then after we discussed that once again we would ride for everyone that had touched us this summer. Today I wanted to keep Jose from the Cleveland Clinic in my prayers and thoughts while riding. Since I met him he has been on my mind very often, and I hope he is keeping strong through what he called his "unexpected journey."

Throughout the summer I had managed to ride with everyone on my team except for Sanjeev, so today I made sure we got in some miles together. Along with Matt Docimo we swept for the last time this summer. Everyone planned on taking it easy and enjoying the last ride, and Nick wasn't worried about us being in a time crunch so he did not set a rack point. We left the Potomac Center and began the day. It was a very beautiful ride and the three of us had a blast. I went over my life story with Sanjeev, and then he told me about his undergrad career and how involved he was with student government. Around mile 30 the pace line in front of us starting running into problems with flat tires. Between the three guys they ended up having 6 flat tires which really slowed us down. From what I heard Reggie got his 22nd flat tire of the summer which may be a new JOH North Route record. Although it was unfortunate that the guys kept getting flat tires it gave the 6 of us a lot of time to hang out and I don't think I would have had the day any other way. We got all the flats out of the way with 25 miles left and then kicked butt because we were late to a sponsored lunch and arrived into Bethesda together. Arriving into Bethesda was very emotional at times for a couple of reasons. It was our last time riding past crew vans which meant no more crew stops, and Im sure I wasn't the only one that saw the signs for Washington D.C.

Lodging for the night was at a private high school and that is also where we had lunch. We had a ride along for the day who is a Pi Alpha from 2001 and he provided the team with Subway. After eating we had a few hours to clean our bikes or relax until going to the all team banquet for dinner. I went inside the school, got showered up and then laid down for a little bit and tried to catch up on the sleep I missed because of our late night. Around 5:00 we loaded up in the vehicles to make our way to Virginia and meet the other teams for a dinner. One of our crew members designed a team tshirt so we all rocked them at the dinner. It was neat seeing our team set apart from the others because they wore their blue team shirts that we all have. While we were eating I thought it was interesting to see the 4 teams stay pretty much segregated instead of mixing in with each other. Along with 5 of my teammates I sat at the end of a table and enjoyed the awesome sponsored BBQ. After eating we went outside to discuss what was going to take place for arrival and then practice our big group picture formation. I learned that trying to get over 100 guys to sit and stand in straight lines is not as easy as you would hope, and it took us a little while to figure everything out.

After spending some time with the other routes I was ready to head back to lodging and spend the last night with my team. We got in the truck and went on our last ride together. We made sure to play all of our favorite songs from the trip and I don't think anyone said much other than when singing. When we got back to lodging most people cleaned their bikes which I did as well. This summer taught me that I probably shouldn't have purchased a white bike, but when it is clean, Liberty sure does shine! Once my bike was all cleaned up I went into the school and everyone hung out together for the rest of the night. We were fighting each other while in sleeping bags, wrestling, and reminiscing on memories from the summer. A lot of people ended up staying up past 3 in the morning, and nights like that are what I am going to miss most about this amazing summer.

To end the night we had a team meeting to discuss the following day and to allow everyone to say anything they would like. We went around the summer and everyone was able to talk. I got pretty choked up during this, and I know that after this summer I have made 34 new friends who I will never forget. Tomorrow is the day we have all been waiting for, after a 11 mile ride we will arrive on the Capitol Lawn and conclude this absolutely amazing journey. I cant imagine spending my summer any better way, and the fact that it is coming to an end is hard to deal with. The say that we touch the people we go and meet at our visits, but I know that I am the one who will forever be impacted.