My long ride is over and I’m now able to say that I’ve ridden by bicycle around the perimeter of the United States.
The final day of my quest was an extremely easy one. It was a Sunday morning in Northern Minnesota and in a very rural area that I began my ride to Fargo, ND. The smooth straight roads were devoid of cars and the wind was at my back. I averaged over 18 mph with minimal effort.
Sunday in rural America
Along the way I thought back to all of the wonderful people I’d met through Bike the US for MS and Bike the UK for MS. A number of cyclist have become extremely good friends and I plan on continuing to do alumni rides with many of them. I also thought of the difficult days where I wanted to call it quits. I’m thankful that I had found the strength to carry on by thinking of the struggles that MS sufferers go through daily. I also found myself chuckling at some of the crazy things that happened to me like the time in the desert where scorpions were crawling on a rock wall next to my tent and I didn’t sleep a wink that night.
I thought of the support I was given by so many of my family members and friends. Cindy, Makiala and Maura have been my biggest cheerleaders and have always encouraged me to finish the “Loop.”
I arrived in Fargo by the early afternoon at the same location where I had left Fargo in 2019, The Great Northern Bike Shop. As with all of my ending rides, Cindy, my lovely wife was there to greet me and celebrate with me. I’m a lucky man to have such a great partner.
It’s been one hell of a journey and hopefully, I will continue to ride my bike for good causes but for now I plan on just riding casually with my friends and family.
