Jan 19, 11:34.  It’s hard to know what to say tonight.  It’s been a long trip, but at the same time, it has flown by.  It’s such a simple existence:  you eat, ride, shower, eat, sleep, and repeat.  Matt takes care of everything else.  In addition, I am sure that I will have withdrawals from the journey.  It’s been such a meaningful, real thing for me, and it will be hard to leave it behind and go back to the classroom.  Still, I must say I am glad that I won’t have to get up and put on tights (or apply Noxzema) in the morning.
 
Today should have been easy—a victory lap, if you will.  However, when I called to confirm where we were staying tonight, I got some bad news.  A pipe had burst, and they were not too excited to have two smelly visitors with no working showers.  So, I got a little stressed out trying to find a new place.  On top of that, it was snowing like all get out, and I was having trouble motivating for another day in bad weather.  Matt and I went to a little diner while we were trying to figure out the logistics for the day, and I got the only vegetarian option—a Portobello burger with no food value whatsoever.  After lunch, we still didn’t know where we were staying, but we came up with a rendezvous point in D.C., and I got on the bike and pedaled away.  I have to admit that I was in a sour mood, then, because all my careful planning seemed to be coming undone at a pivotal moment.
 
The riding was actually pretty hard, because the snow on the bike path was pretty deep, and it kept building up and turning to ice on my bike.  There were times when the wheels wouldn’t turn freely, and I only had 2 or 3 working gears.  The Portobello sandwich didn’t last more than a couple miles, either.  I had a clif bar and manually removed some of the ice and crud, and kept on going.  The going was pretty dicey in some parts.  The trail was curvy, and at one point I saw the telltale skidmarks where another cyclist had wrecked.  Eventually, the snow started to peter out, and I turned on the gas.  I had left in just enough time to get to DC by sunset, so there was no room for error.  It was basically a 50 mile time trial today.  Even with the snow, a couple minor navigational errors, and numerous intersections to pass through, I averaged about 20 mph.  It was just barely enough to get me across the Potomac before dark.
 
Although I had started the ride today in a bad mood, it faded as I got closer to the city.  Slowly, I remembered what this trip had been about, and my logistical problems were no big deal.  Besides, lots of friends were going well out of their way to find us a place.  Thanks especially to Rebecca, Daniel, Dean, and Matthew.  Before long, I wasn’t even thinking about lodging.
 
I met up with Matt in Georgetown at the north end of the Key Bridge, where he had been waiting and taking pictures of the crowd.  I rode my bike directly into a party.  There were literally people dancing in the streets to the music of drums.  It was electric.  All around, people in shirts and ties and people in jeans were cutting loose, not caring what they looked like, and enjoying an optimism that hasn’t been felt for a long time.  Freedom from fear.  That’s reason to dance!
 
We grabbed some dinner, and while we were there, Rebecca called and gave us the number for her friends who live here.  They were just arriving back in town tonight, and said we were welcome to stay.  Whew.  We called and got directions, and then we got on the wrong road anyway.  A few back and forths later, we were at Chris and Shivani’s house.  It’s a super nice condo in a cool neighborhood, just 12 blocks from the Capitol.  Things couldn’t have worked out any better.
 
So, it’s bedtime.  I’m excited about tomorrow, but I think I’ll sleep well tonight regardless.  We hope to get up pretty early in the morning to stake out a spot on the Mall.  CNN says that tomorrow will be the most documented moment of all human history.  I just can’t believe we’ll be here to witness it.

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