DAILY BLOG

After several days of intense riding days and a combined feeling of fatigue, today was a welcome change. We had a blast! We knew it was going to be our last long riding day (90 miles), so we wanted to finish strong. Also, we soon passed into our final state (South Carolina) this morning, and we really enjoyed the change of scenery—including palm trees!

Our final state sign

Rich changing his gloves

And here we thought the hills were over!

Our new pet—given to us by the Rogers family! (Eat More Chickin!)

Jordan and Justy rode with Jared and I a long time today. After lunch, we began riding together as a foursome when something cracked. I think it was me. I started singing a silly song about our bike tour, Jared soon joined in. Then Justy and Jordan got into a goofy mood as well. So, for the next hour, we were riding together, acting like a bunch of kids. Jordan and Jared then started spraying water on me and Justy to mix things up even more. I sure hope that the people who live along side Hwy 64 did not hear us as we sped past—If they did, I am sure they probably thought we were a bunch of lunatics!

The goofy Wagners

Rich expresses his excitement over seeing a real live train!

Team Wagner in a more serious mode

My mom and dad joined us later in the afternoon along the roadway. They drove down from their home in Indiana to see us finish up the tour. They then spent the afternoon with us as we headed into Walterboro, SC. We forgot to take a picture with them—we’ll do that tomorrow.

Jared and I finished up the last 30 miles into Walterboro, and knowing that this was our last full day, we decided to put the hammer down. We both were going all out, particularly over the past 12 miles, maintaining speeds of 25-31mph. It felt great! I will miss that feeling when the ride is over!

Rich and Jared getting focused again

Well, tomorrow we wrap up the tour. Wow! 23 riding days we’ve ridden so far. 4 rest days. Just one more day of riding into Charleston. So much to reflect on in the days ahead—which we will do on the blog. But for now, we’ll focus on those last 55 miles. It should be quite an experience riding through the streets of Charleston on our way to the beach. We are going to have an end of tour celebration put on by group of people from a local church at the Isle of Palms State Park Beach at 4pm. We’ll provide full details tomorrow!