After Pikeville, KY, we left our home state. With all the rest days and events, it felt like we had been in Kentucky forever, making it much harder to leave. From Pikeville, we rode out of Kentucky and into Virginia. What struck us the most about this ride were the Kudzu vines which covered every inch of the landscape around us. It felt more like being in a jungle than the regular Kentucky climate we are so used to. We rode into Richlands (or Raven?), VA, and stayed at the Richlands Church of God. Funny enough, despite Virginia being our so-called “final state,” we rode into West Virginia the next day to a town called Princeton. We stayed at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Princeton. For lunch, we witnessed Blake Mitchell eat an entire sushi roll in under a minute, and for dinner, we celebrated Grant Johnson’s birthday at Cracker Barrel. On July 21, we rode out of West Virginia and back into Virginia, reuniting with board member Dana Hesse in Blacksburg. He hosted us at his house and the Fiji graduate brother’s townhouse there and took us out to dinner at the Top of the Stairs pub. Shortly after, we toured the beautiful Virginia Tech campus. The following day was a rest day, which we spent visiting a memory care facility in the morning, tubing in the afternoon, and finishing off the night seeing Oppenheimer.

*Team 11 on the Virginia Capital Trail.*

On the 23rd, we left Blacksburg for Lexington, staying at the Washington and Lee Fiji chapter house. We rode into town, greeted by Kelly Harris, who is affiliated with the chapter at Washington and Lee and has been a supporter of Bike4Alz for years. We would like to say thanks to Beam Me Up BBQ and Sweet Things Ice Cream for donating dinner and dessert to the team. After a great meal, Kelly gave us a short tour of Washington and Lee. After Lexington, we rode to Charlottesville, and ate at Boylan Heights, where we also met up with some Fiji graduate brothers Dana knows. From Charlottesville, we went to Richmond, stayed at the Candlewood Suites Hotel, and ate at the Capital Ale House. We hung out with some graduate brothers and even got to meet Bike4Alz alum Jonathan Greene, who is currently doing his residency in Richmond.

The next day, the 26th, we celebrated Dylan Jackson’s birthday by getting breakfast at Shorty’s Diner before our ride. One of the people dining there asked us what we were up to, probably confused by the twelve guys walking in wearing cycling gear; we told him about our journey and our goal, and he decided to pay for our breakfast out of the kindness of his heart. We left the diner and got ready for our ride to Williamsburg, which was short, flat, and on a bike trail for almost the whole way – perfect cycling conditions. That night we camped and reflected on the trip of a lifetime. We hung out by the fire and shared stories for hours before finally going to bed sometime around midnight.

On the 27th, we woke up bright and early ready to knock out one final ride. Mason Alexander’s dad volunteered to drive the van the day, so all twelve riders were together for the first time since our practice ride. We rode through the town of Williamsburg, where we stood out like a sore thumb because of the matching lavender uniforms. I do not think any of the riders would disagree with me saying that it was one of the most enjoyable rides we did. Our spirits were high, and the end was so close you could smell it. We rode into the city, and despite the terrible traffic and sweltering heat, nothing could dampen the joy we had. Even after having the beach in our sights, we still had to go twenty miles south to meet our welcoming committee. We joked, “Come on, it’s right there!” and “Yeah, I biked across the country and then twenty miles south.” But in the end, it was all worth it. We heard our loved ones’ cheers as we rode closer, unclipped one last time, and sprinted to the water. We were all so happy to see everyone there to support us. After jumping into the Atlantic, we celebrated completing our journey with one last event hosted at The Shack on 8th. The team - who had spent almost every waking moment with each other for months - finally parted ways, and having finally achieved the objective we bled, sweat, and cried over, could finally rest.