August 22 Day 83 Boston 40 miles

Scary riding. All the roads into Boston are commuter arteries with grim-faced drivers alternating stomps between the gas and the brake. The road surface on Highway 9 is terrible, so we are steering around potholes while watching the drivers in the mirror. We eventually turn onto Highway 30 for some improvement. We finally reach the bike path along the Charles River. One guy is picking up the office mail on his bike. He guides us through tricky parts of the bike path for a few miles before turning back to deliver the mail. At long last, Boston! We decide the ride is officially over when we reach the Boston Public Garden. We celebrate with lunch.

Time to start wrapping it up. We pedaled to the UPS Store and stripped everything off the bikes. The UPS Store gave us a plastic bag to hold the stuff we will retain. All the rest went into a pile for the UPS people to stuff into boxes and ship home. Two blocks farther to the bike shop where they will break down our bikes to fit into boxes and ship them home. Our daughter Nicole met us at the bike shop to escort us to our motel near her new apartment. Tomorrow Roy will take the train to DC to visit his daughter and then fly home. We will help Nicole move stuff into her apartment and fly home in a few days. And then it's over.

I would like to thank those who have taken an interest in the ride and supported us with your good wishes. Roy did all the map work, watching for the left turns on Pickle Street and the concealed entrances to the bike paths. We would never have made it without Roy's navigation. Michele did a multitude of tasks that should be recognized. A few demand some comment. Michele alone suffered continuing mechanical problems with the bike. She put up with very frustrating gear shifting conditions without complaint (well, with only a little whining). She kept me organized and on task. She put up with my sulking. And me? I contributed our closing limerick:

Three friends got a strange notion

Of what might be done with wheels in motion.

On the 83rd day

I'm proud to say

They rode from ocean to ocean.