Home.

Location: Lake Stevens, WA

Okay guys, I apologize for the lack of posts. The last week or so has been awash with emotion, anticipation, and activity and devoid of internet access.

I can't begin to fully describe the tail end of the trip, but here's a quick recap: The Virginias were absolutely gorgeous. Green, rural, and the weather was surprisingly mild (an anomaly, say the locals).

It was all really a blur until the Saturday arrival. Before that we had lots of team events and trying to get the last bit of bro-bonding in before we had to part ways. The guys from my team are seriously some of my best friends now; it's amazing what two months at such a trying expedition will do to a group of young men. We exchanged stories and memories, compliments, and advice. Many choked up and/or cried near the end when we knew we were heading off to our last ride into the capitol.

We rode into DC with the two other teams at precisely 11:00 and arrived on the front lawn of the capitol building, greeted by hundreds of friends and family. After some speeches and lots of picture-taking, we headed to the hotel to disassemble the bicycles that had (for the most part) carried us so loyally across the nation. After that, my pop and I walked around toward the Lincoln Memorial, but it was way far away and we made it as far as the reflecting pond in front before taking a cab back to get ready for the banquet.

The banquet was more speaking and congratulating -- but mostly it was each team trying to show how much cooler they were than the others. Trans-America definitely took the cake with the frattiest matching outfits, a bluegrass song, gifts for PMs and Push Staff, and having the most and best pictures from the summer. Oh, and did I mention that we were the only team to not lose even a single member over the course of the summer? Yeah, we rock.

Last night in DC we got to hang out one last time with the team and with some family. We went to the Dubliner to celebrate and had a blast. We stayed out late, hoping to soak up some last-minute camaraderie -- and hugs. In the morning, it was more or less everybody heading home. I got on my flight(s) to Seattle which would take the better part of the day, and while it's certainly nice to be home in beautiful western Washington, I'm sad I had to leave those guys and probably won't see many of them for quite a while.

I can say that for me, the summer served mostly as review of my own character. I had the pleasure of spending just over two months with incredible gentlemen -- each of whom had at least one trait or gift which I really want to adapt into my personality. I'm always striving to figure out exactly who I am and how to make myself a better man, and I think these guys have helped me see the changes I want (need) to make in my life, and did it in an incredibly short period of time. I love those guys, and I'm going to miss them. Everyone needs to experience something like this in their lifetime; I'm so glad I did. Now in ten years we have to do the route again -- but this time on motorcycles.

TA = BA
Jay Holley
Alex Rosell
Jesse Kornblum
Matt Wulff
Nathan Whelan
Matt Sloan
Ryan Dixon
Sean Richardson
Joel Abbott
Josh Schoenfelder
Jason Child
Jamie O'Brien
Cody Compau
Dan Cariello
Stephen Sanger
Cameron Sparks
Ryan Shippy
Dan Wallis
Paul Vulcan
Matt Sartin
Kegan Fielding
Andrew Lewis
Dom Valenti
Karl Heideman
Grant Tanabe
Max Maier
Ben Kaufman
Erik Farrar