We didn't sleep much in King William. Partly because it was our last night on the RLPT and we were getting all emotional and were up half the night crying and stuff, and for me, partly because I had ditched almost all my gear (including sleeping bag and air mattress) in Charlottesville in favor of a crash and burn landing into Yorktown. So in true hobo glory, we slept on top of some picnic tables in the Pow-wow shelter (I regret not sleeping in the dugout canoe), and I shivered while contemplating taking Sam out and stealing his sleeping bag.
We woke up the earliest of any single day on the RLPT yet, 5:15 (!), to a magical land of mist (geeaz). The air was about 500% humidity and we could only see about 10 feet out of the shelter. Slowly the sun came over the trees and burned away the cloud we were sheltered in, and the day was set - crisp, clear, and beautiful for our victory ride into Yorktown! We almost couldn't tell a difference, it was just another day of riding. Wake up, pack up, caffeine up, and ride on. But I think once we started counting down mileage in our heads as usual, and realized that the number was under 50 for the rest of the trip, and that this was really the last 50 we would count down at all this summer, things started to change. We voted in a unanimous decision that to celebrate our last day we would need to pound some energy drinks right away. So at the first gas station we humiliated two energy drinks. (that means we drank them) I think Sam might have even crushed a 32 oz. gatorade, but I can't even tell anymore, the addiction has consumed his life so. We knew that Sam's mom, Mike, Julie, Christian, Chris, and Meggie were going to be at the beach at 12, so there was no time to waste today.The road was flatter than ever the whole way, and we cruised to West Point, where glory was laid before us:
Our first glimpse of the almost-almost-Ocean. View from the bridge we crossed in West Point, looking down the York River (which runs into the Chesapeake bay, which runs into the Atlantic, duh!)I had decided weeks earlier, that the only proper way to finish this thing would be flying an American flag on my bike. I envisioned a 15 foot pole lashed to my frame with a 10 foot wide flag fluttering behind, but it turns out that was unreasonable. We stopped in Williamsburg to find a flag. Now, if we couldn't find an American flag in WILLIAMSBURG, VA, 2 days before the FOURTH OF JULY, then I don't know anything anymore. But as it turns out, at least 3 trading posts in Williamsburg are harboring terrorists because they didn't have flags. And that's why we decided Obama needs to amend the Constitution to require every single store in America to sell flags.
Anyways, a UVA alum came to the rescue (of course) as I was purchasing a flag at the fourth store we tried. I was asking if he sold a flagpole to go with it and I told him about our trip and how we had just graduated, and he told me he was a UVA grad of the class of '80. He went in the back and brought out a flag attached to a pole and just gave it to me, since our trip was a worthy cause he said! He also just gave us a smaller UVA flag for free to fly along with it! I rigged up Old Glory to my bike and Sam attached UVA's flag to his pack, and we were finally ready for our nonstop 10 more miles to victory.
We sailed along the Colonial parkway the rest of the way in, a fitting finish for the final leg of the RLPT, and with each glimpse of the York river we got more excited. As we rolled into the beach area, we saw the huge bridge, plenty of delicious sand and water, and Sam's mom, but no friends! After another lap up and back down the parking lot we spotted the rest of them holding up a finish line of red, white, and blue streamers leading down the ramp onto a dock! We broke through it in a state of glorious ecstasy while being assaulted by water balloons and encouraged to keep riding all the way off the dock! It probably would have felt great, but I figured I shouldn't ruin another phone / ipod / lose 44 days worth of pictures by drowning my camera. The finish line was awesome and a fabulous conclusion to the trip, thanks guys!!
We baptized our bikes ceremoniously in the sweet waters of the Atlantic, and after judging the jellyfish content of the beach to be too high, headed to Meggie's pool for several hours. We were ridiculed by children and teens for our tan lines and lack of diving board "skills", but took revenge by showing them our drivers licenses. For the rest of the night we celebrated and grilled out at Meggie's, sharing stories, reminiscing of our good old days in college when we were young and beautiful, and lamenting the REALity of the real world.
RLPT by the numbers:3,747.9 - miles
44 - days on the road
26- flat tires
3 - rest days
800 - 32oz. gatorades (Sam)
4 - dollars lost by Aaron in the Montana lottery
0.93 - lbs of cheese stolen by Ravens
8 - jars of peanut butter finished by Aaron
0 - # of sleeves on James' red jersey
7 - miles spent in Nebraska
8,530 - elevation of Sylvan pass (highest point on our trip)
11 - states
0 - dollars remaining in our bank accounts combined
Well we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Thanks so much to everyone who followed along and supported us, and anyone who is still reading / checking to see if we would get our acts together and finish writing our blog! We couldn't be more thankful for all the help people gave us in letters, care packages, places to sleep, food, thoughts, and prayers.
We may have to grow up, but the spirit of the RLPT will never die, rage on protestors!
Also, a lot of people have mentioned that they would like one of the t-shirts we made, so we're going to make another order from underground printing! If you'd like one, even if you think you've already told me, send me an email at ras6d@virginia.edu and let me know along with your size. They are going to be $18, and they're sweet quality shirts - American Apparel. Thanks!
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