Up with the sun and early start today for the final 17 miles. First rode a couple miles down the trail to Great Falls, which was a sight to behold, particularly after all the recent rains.
As the mile markers ticked down, a flood of thoughts that have been accumulating over the past 10 weeks ached for expression, so did a few short videos to share them. Here’s one.
Seconds after finishing this video, was approached by some hikers on the trail asking about the trike. One of their voices sounded vaguely familiar, but it wasn’t until I looked at his face, then looked again, that I recognized who it was. I said, “Bruce?” Former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt seemed surprised when I told him who I was, not recognizing me in this foreign context, and proceeded to ask about my ride. What I didn’t think to tell him, but should have, was how he helped germinate the idea for this ride 13 years ago through an impassioned speech he gave on the global warming threat at the University of Colorado at Boulder. To this day, I rank it as one of the best speeches ever given on the topic. Yet Bruce and I had locked horns pretty severely years earlier over how to best protect the Everglades. The Universe works in mysterious ways. Below is another video I did a short while later, on overcoming the forces of greed.
This final video takes us to near the end of the towpath, which ended shortly thereafter. It’s been a wonderful 320 miles on nothing but bike trails from just south of Pittsburgh all the way to DC.
From there, pedaled up the road to a hotel for a much-needed shower, shave and some rest.
