Home again in NJ

What happened? Where did the time go? Why am I not writing about a ride down highway A1A in Florida? We had our final dinner together in Daytona Beach on Saturday night - and I was most pleased to be joined by Susan. We all toasted our successes, recounted both the rainy and sunny days, listened to everybody's little testimony of the ride and then most of us also met for breakfast overlooking the ocean on Sunday morning. Then it was time to load the bikes onto the car (I took Tom's home too) and hit the road. This time it would be I95 going north and every time we saw a sign for a familiar spot, i.e. Amelia Island, Brunswick Ga, Savannah, the North Carolina ferry system...Susan would just sigh and say "you really haven't left the ride behind have you". The reality is I won't ever leave the ride behind. The reunion with old friends from XC09, meeting and riding with new friends from other years, riding with Bill, Chris, Doug, Tom, Champ, Hank, Larry - how can you leave that behind? The Reunion Ride of 2011 was everything I expected and then some. Tracy and her staff were terrific - super organized and responsive to both the ordinary issues and the totally unexpected problems (e.g. my bike problems for starters). We had more rain than anyone thought they needed or wanted...yet I can say that I feel more confident than ever about riding in the rain and in the end it really didn't bother me. I got a little tired of cleaning the bike but I also learned new tricks about cleaning the bike and especially the drive chain and am much better at it than I ever was before. I hit a new high for one day - 121 miles exceeding the old record by 2 miles. I also learned some new skills in a paceline. I ride solo probably 95% of the time and I thank the Pedigrees for their patience while a learned to keep a fairly steady speed and pace - you can teach an old dog new tricks. And to Mac, Don, Larry thanks for a couple of rides where we could crank it up just a bit and let fly. To all the folks I rode with, had dinner with, shared a beer with...thanks for a terrific three weeks. It really did go too fast. So....21 days of riding, 1600+ miles, three flat tires and one busted derailleur, 5 DQ root beer floats and countless fig newtons, packages of trail mix, and Endurolytes. And finally to Susan thanks for putting up with all the bike talk and more than anything, thanks for joining me in Daytona and sharing the last few hours of this marvelous experience.