Finishing Strong at the Pentagon

You could feel the electricity in the air yesterday morning as 350 riders departed on the last leg of our 530 mile (not to include free bonus miles), eight day journey. As the riders closed on Washington DC we were joined by approximately 100 other riders. It was a mile long river of red, white and blue R2R jerseys snaking it's way through the streets of Washington slowly making it's way to the Pentagon. The ride closed on the Pentagon to throngs of cheering people. Everyone dismounted and made their way to the Pentagon Memorial.

The Pentagon Memorial garden was a very solemn and special place. In the garden are 184 benches. One for each person killed at the Pentagon September 11th. The benches are all aligned to the flight path American Flight 77 took into the west wall of the Pentagon that morning. On the end of each illuminated bench is the name of a person who lost their life that morning arranged in such a way that if you can read the name and you are facing the pentagon, that person was in the Pentagon. If you can read the name and are facing the skyline to the west, that person was on board the Flight 77. Trees are planted throughout the garden. Mari and I both agree that this memorial was nicely done and there was a special kind a peace that filled the garden. A very fitting place to finish this journey.

Well, our journey has finished and we feel very blessed to have been able to participate is such a great event. We were both challenged mentally and physically and rode farther than we ever though we would be able to. We have met so many wonderful folks along the way, seen first hand America's support for it's troops and at times felt we were placed there through...I don't know...providence? How else would we have met a man who knew Steve Redd back in his Ranger days and was able to draw strength from his photo? Or that Mari would meet the mother of a special woman in the life of Dave Hortman the day before we rode in his honor? Chance or providence, we were here for a reason and all things happen for a reason.

From what I can tell this morning, we have been able to raise a total $12,649. Wow!

Thank you so much for following us from Ground Zero to Shanksville to the Pentagon. Thank you for your donations. Thank you for your words of encouragement and support. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

God bless our Troops and may God continue to bless America.

NSDQ

We made it!

We made it to the Pentagon today. It was quite a site as we rolled in. the memorial is a beautiful place but there is much sadness there as well.

We're going to spend the evening having a drink and some food with a friend and Gary's cousin. Well blog a better summary in a day or so.

We're ready to be home in our own bed and not being in a different place every night but it was a great experience. It will be good for Gary to have everything in his daily life to be accessible for him. We didn't pedal every single mile but we met our goals, exceeded what we thought were our limitations and made some great friendships.

For our fundraiser we set a goal of $2998 each. We're grateful to say we've raised over $12,500 for the Huey 091 Foundation and Ride To Recovery. Thanks to everyone who has supported us in any way. Please pass on the donate link or our website if you know anyone who may want to contribute to help wounded warriors. Our website is www.teamlinfoot.com and the donate link is http://www.huey091foundation.org/Donations.aspx.

Thanks for checking in on us,

17 miles to the Pentagon

From Maryland to West Virginia into Virginia on day 7

We made it to Virginia and almost can't believe tomorrow is the last day. We're supposed to arrive at the Pentagon at 2:00 P.M.

Riders that have participated in many of the rides say this has been the toughest because of the length of the ride and the hills. After day one and two, We had our doubts about whether or not we liked it. By today we were talking about how to make our training more challenging and what our "next ride" will be.

I just asked Gary what I should write and he said "cold, hurt, steep, sore, tired, long, scenic, challenging, rewarding." That wraps up today, I guess.

Tomorrow is another early morning. We ride in honor of the children who have lost a parent in the attacks of 9-11 and the wars that have resulted.  Our Nation's most
cherished possessions are our children and they have paid a heavy toll.  Pictured at www.Facebook.com/teamlinfoot is Keegan who at age 4 along with his sisters
Rachel (age 8) and Meaghan (age 3) and brother Patrick (7 months) lost
their daddy.

Our Nation's Gold Star children may not understand what has happened or
why.  They know that they miss their mommy or daddy.

We made it to Maryland.

Today started off with a chilly 42 degree temperature. But with a mountain to climb on our way to Shanksville, we warmed up quickly. Again, the scenery was beautiful.

It was humbling to see the site where 40 Americans died because they crashed a high jacked plane into a field in the middle of nowhere saving countless lives in our Nation's capital.
It was very sad thinking about the terror they must have felt, knowing they were going to die but they took back the plane and the terriorists didn't complete their goal and we could feel the pride in that today. There was a nice ceremony there and we were on our way.

Gary has some great new friends also known as "pushers". He's next to me now saying "Write that I have taken four young Marine riders under my wing and I pull them up the mountain." Obviously he is kidding. These guys are amazing riders and will push whenever needed. They definitely appreciate Gary's abilities and his efforts as well. He is a pretty strong hand cyclist who gives it his all. There are a lot of other "pushers" on this trip. It's truly a "no man left behind" mentality. Gary rides with the fast group so I don't see him much. He's usually leaving the lunch stop when I get there. I had to stop to catch my breath today after a long hill climb. Soon two riders came behind me and stopped. I told them to go ahead and go past me. They told me they couldn't leave me because I was the last rider. I've never been that far back before so I must have looked surprised. Then they said, "But you're doing great! Everyone else behind you has gotten in the support vehicles." That made me feel a little better but I did chuckle as I don't know if my performance deserved a "great". It is about doing the best you can and pushing your limits.

Today, I was talking with a lady rider about where we were from, why we were here, etc. Soon we were holding hands and crying as we discovered her daughter was the special girl of the man we are riding in honor of tomorrow, Captain David Hortman. We'll be riding with his picture in our pocket as we do each day and I'll give Pam one as well so she can do the same. I knew in that moment we were right where God wanted us to be. We enjoyed dinner with Pam tonight. NSDQ

Thanks for checking in with us. We'll post about David tomorrow and his photo will be on our Facebook page.

Mari

Just crossed the Mason Dixon line.

Confession: at one point I (Mari) was literally the last person on the ride today. They told me I was doing great. Lol