With the ZZZ Team taking over in Athens, OH they were on their final push toward the finish line. The Green Team would take over one more time to ultimately get them all the way to Annapolis. I took this opportunity to hang with the Green Team during their down time between rides. Riders and crew alike were finding as much sleep as possible before their last stint on the road. Sleeping on the RV as we made our way to a hotel in Grantsville, OH. Our RV driver, Mac found a couple extra minutes of sleep by attaching his hammock to the RV and a near by tree. Another welcome sight along the way was Jon Bannon's wife, Julie. She was on her way to see us cross the finish line and stopped by to say hi!
While the Green team rested, the ZZZ Team had made their way in to Maryland! This was a state homecoming for cyclist John Zaniker since he resides in Severna Park, MD. John and his brother Jeff stopped for a quick photo op at the state line. We definitely enjoyed our visit, hopefully John has enjoyed his stay.
Our last full team exchange took place in Frostburg, MD which was roughly 230 miles from the finish line. The Green Team loaded up, grabbed some grub at a local burger stop and prepared for a long night ahead of them. Green Team navigator, Rick Egdorf had ended up pulling double duty when crew member Doug Shrieve had to part ways early for work in Bloomington, so we let him relax and join the ZZZ Team for some much needed rest after keeping an eye on Keegan for the exchange. The overnight journey was long and tiring. We again cruised through Gettysburg at night which gave the area an eerie ghost-like quality. Maybe next year we can go a little faster and get to Gettysburg when it's still light out :). The ZZZ team joined our riders about 9 miles from the timed finish line so they could all roll across it together. The actual timed completion of the race happens before the team crosses the finish line at the city docks. They want to allow enough space between each finishing team to get the recognition they deserve, so there is an escort that comes out to meet the team and lead them to the ceremonial finish line at the docks.
We Made It!!!!
We rolled in with a time of 6 days, 17 hours and 41 minutes from coast to coast. There were several excited and relieved family members awaiting our team at the finish line. It was wonderful to see them all at the culmination of another exciting, enthralling and exhausting cross country journey!!!