Day 48: In Boston, MA!

I just realized that we didn't bring the itinerary with us, so I don't know what today was "billed" as. (Ok, the condensed itinerary on their webpage informs me that today was 88 miles and the "14th state line into 15th state.")

Dad said he's so in the habit of sending his cliff notes and pictures that he did so today without realizing, "Oh, I'll see them in a few hours." (Or a few more hours, as the case may be; weather from DC to Boston wasn't exactly ideal, and - after other dramatic "will we make the flight?" adventures - we spent an hour on the tarmac before taking off at the same time as Gil's brother and sister-in-law, also from Dulles (after an hour delay at their gate THEN an hour delay on the tarmac). Gil's sister had quite a wait in Boston (from NY) for someone with a rental car to arrive. So we all left with our rented cars and arrived at the hotel within minutes of one another, albeit an hour or so later than planned. (At which point, some of us were super-ready for, oh, lunch. Fortunately the box of cookies I stuffed in my carry-on (thinking "what the heck, I have the room and it's a free snack") sustained us until we ate at 8 or 8:30 pm.) And I'm pleased to report that Mom DID get down to a carry-on! Which I had faith she could do. We're both very proud. (Really, we're seeing family - whose impressions of us probably won't change due to a weekend without a specific liquid toiletry - and people who've been sweating for eight hours a day and washing their three pairs of clothes in the sink for two months. Dad emphasized that our appearance should be "VERY casual.") She also ran like heck at Dulles - not even putting her shoes on after security until we boarded the plane three minutes before the door shut (and three minutes after we should have taken off - so yes, the running was necessary). The several people who boarded even LATER than us - one group to cheers from their companions in the back - didn't look nearly as disheveled and sweaty as we did. We're not sure they really ran, or so we choose to tell ourselves.

Dad's looking good! 10 or 11 pounds lighter than when we last saw him, so he's quite thin, but he's got a bit more hair so there's at least some color up there. (As far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing.) Planning on keeping it short at least through the summer, but enjoyed how "cool" the "fuzz" length felt. (We enjoy there being a bit more hair than "fuzz.")

Gil's Cliff Notes (sent at 4:43 pm):
Last day of tour other than the 18 mile jaunt to the ocean tomorrow. Mixed emotions. Unbelievable, but we are here on the edge of Boston. It was a warm day. Left Brattleboro, VT at 7:15. Skies threatening [hence all the trouble getting out of Dulles]. Entered NH soon after leaving. Lots of climbing today and crossed the White Mountains [apparently yesterday's 2nd mountain range was....something other than the White Mountains? *shrugs*]. One grade was particularly challenging but I felt strong today and just kept pedaling in a lower gear until I got to the top. We also crossed into Massachusetts as we rolled along towards Boston. 87 hilly miles today. A great sense of relief and accomplishment when we reached the Hilton Hotel. Many hugs and damp eyes. I will miss the many nice people that have became part of my extended family the last 7 weeks. We went through a lot together and had many great moments. Tomorrow we cap it all of with a ride to the beach and a banquet in the evening.

We had a nice little family reunion over dinner - both of his siblings and his sister-in-law were able to come, and my cousin Amy and her husband Mark live in Boston and joined us for dinner. (Uncle Carl, you were missed!) We talked more about the tour (and video-editing logistics) in general than today's ride; when he called us after arriving in Boston, we were busy at Hertz and then finding our exit out of the tunnel, so not too much of substance was said. ("Hi! We're getting the car! We're in the car driving. You're at the hotel. We'll be there soon! Shoot, that's our exit, gotta go!") He said that the tour exceeded his expectations, though it was also more physically demanding than he had expected with the day-in, day-out routine. Also less free time for goofing off and seeing the towns they were staying in than expected. Discussed some of his ideas for the video footage - he mentioned a few days ago that they recommend riders get another project or hobby after finishing, since it's such a change of pace from the days of training then riding. Video editing will be Gil's new project! (After he does a few things around the house, not the least of which is making my bedroom inhabitable again. I'm SO excited to have a real bed here at the hotel. It's a king, to compensate for the fact that I've been sleeping on couch cushions half the width of a twin.) We also learned that his computer is woefully inadequate for the high-def editing task. (Shocking, considering picasa crashed it several times.) It ain't no 3 gigahertz. So it appears he'll be spending a lot of time at RJ and Chris' to edit the sucker! RJ said he'd be pleased to join editing forces once it's down to the fun part - ie once the good stuff is pulled out from the six or seven hours of raw footage. One tentative idea is to burn interested riders copies of the raw footage on DVD (downgrading from the HD quality of the camera, but still very good), then following up when an edited compilation is available.

We also enjoyed meeting a few other riders, including his roommate Richard and regular riding partner/fellow Pile Driver Tony. I'm sure we'll meet lots more tomorrow!