Day 83 - The End - Astoria, OR

the ceremonial dipping of the wheels at the end of the voyage....

Congratulations to my amazing riding compadres Dana Miller and Josh Evans.  These 2 fine folks absolutely made this trip for me; great compatibility as riding and camping partners, but mostly great friends for life.  we shared experiences and laughs that no one else would ever be able to understand !  So, I'd like to give Dana and Josh the Best Cycle Touring Partners Awards !

Welcome to Astoria !

Approaching Astoria. Not much elevation compared to what we'd done so far. this sign made me smile.


awoke early to a fine morning; sunny, calm, nice. after our final camp dinner last night, I made our final pots of camp coffee this morning. we had a 76 mile ride or so to Astoria and spirits were high for Dana and I. Josh reached Portland ahead of us 2 days ago and had made a long push yesterday to Astoria. Dana and I were a little bummed that we might not all finish together, at least for the wheel dipping festivities; we had traveled together for what seemed so long and shared so much that it just wouldn't be right to not finish together. we got in touch with him on the way and he said he would wait or us in Astoria to celebrate. so, on we pressed, making excellent time and enjoying the ride immensely!! the remaining climbs on the way were a bit more work than we anticipated, but still motored right into Astoria. I felt my emotions start to crank up for the first time as we got closer to to town; the reality that this long epic journey would be ending in a few short miles was hitting me hard. we ran right into Josh as we entered the town, so that was a real mood booster!!! we would all get to be together for the finale, the wheel dip and some celebratory champagne, which we promptly picked up. found our way to a good spot to do the celebration. it was a happy and emotional time. dipped our wheels, toasted each other and let the whole thing sink in.

i needed to head back to the bike shop in town I had previously contacted to prep and pack my bike for shipment back home. got there and took care of business. didn't like at all feeling rushed breaking down my bike and packing my gear (the shop would be closing soon...), all of which had been all i had to my name for almost 3 months.  lots of memories of campground coffee and dinners and breakfasts as i unloaded the cooking gear pannier. i had to remove both front and rear racks to get the bike to fit in the box. got everything packed acceptably, with clothes and extras in one pannier and the cooler (which had doubled as my handlebar bag since replacing my front rack in Frisco, CO) as carry-ons.  once done with the packing chores, I was now on foot. this was when the reality hit home hard with me that this journey had ended. i had reached the destination, Astoria, Oregon. i had checked my computer to see 4,629 miles since i left Ft. Myers, Florida on April 2. i could no longer hop on my bike to go from there or to there.  i very hard reality check that life was changing again for me very quickly.
dana and josh met up with just after i got the boxes taped up and ready for fedex to do their thing.  they had gotten a room for us to share so we could hang out one more night (remember, i don't have my tent and sleeping gear !!).  we checked in, cleaned up, and took a walk-about for a place to eat. had a decent burger and local micro-brew, and then we headed back for our last chance to hang out..... would have been better to camp !!


today: 76 miles
grand total: 4629