End of the Road

Arriving in DC two weeks ago was by far the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced. We rode about 40 miles from Manassas to DC that day, and I did not want the ride to end. I remember being quite and reflecting on the whole summer. I thought about the places I went, the people I met, and the Pi Kapp brothers I rode with. There were so many feelings swirling through my mind that I could not concentrate on one thing for too long. All three teams staged up a couple miles from the capitol building about an hour before the arrival. I don't think any of us were really prepared to what we were about to experience. Riding into the capitol lawn with hundreds of friends, parents, and random bystanders lining the street to cheer us in is one of the best feelings in the world. It almost felt like a dream. My emotions went crazy and I have never been so proud of an accomplishment before. Walking up to the lawn, I saw on of my favorite sponsors from Lake Havasu, a group of amazing friends from Queens, and my parents and I almost started to cry. I did hold in all my tears though, which I can not say the same for many of my teammates. My whole team just started hugging each other and we didn't even have anything to say to one another because words could not explain our feelings. We all lined up in front of the capitol to listen to speakers and looking out infront us at the crowd was unbelievable. All I could think about was how I could not believe this summer was over and to see all the support we recieved from across the nation to come to our arrival was amazing! The rest of teh day was pretty surreal. I just kept thinking to myself that I could not believe it was all over. No more waking up in a gym with 32 other guys, no more 4:30 wake ups to cycle 100 miles, no more crew chief breakfast or lunches, no more daily friendship visits. Now that I have had a few days to sit and think about the summer, I have realized that this has been the best experience of my life. I have realized that there are experiences and people that we meet that will change our lives forever, and I definitely consider my life changed forever. Service is such an important part of living, and I will take what I have learned about service to others and carry that with me the rest of my life.

- Joey H.