The Home Stretch

A 5:00 AM wake up may never have been greated with more excitement than the Friday that held our final 105 miles. We had a hearty breakfast of leftover chocolate cake and granola, loaded our bikes and camelpacks down with water, and set out. Since Mr. Howorth and Mr. Gillespie drove up to the cabin together, Mr. Gillespie was able to drive home our sixth team member, the rugged Sienna. This allowed the five cyclist to ride together for the first time the whole trip! We were out by 6:04 and as soon as our legs were loose, we formed a tight draft line. The Natchez Trace was really smooth and traffic was light, and we started covering ground for large stretches at 21-22 mph. We really flew through the first 25 miles when we stopped at a trailhead for a brief rest and second breakfast. By this time, Mr. Howorth had covered our headstart and he began to play leapfrog with our line, taking action shots of our final push homewards (to be posted soon!).

By mid morning we had covered 50 miles and hit Tupelo. We were in need of a break, but were not sure of where we were stopping. The iPhones were being a bit coy about food locations, so we took a gamble getting off the Trace and trying to find some sustenance within a mile or so. As luck would have it, we found a Shipley's Donuts just off the Trace. We wondered in and were pretty shocked that all activity in the establishment stopped and everyone just started laughing at us. We had witnessed a veritable spectrum of reactions in our trip - eager supporters who wouldn't stop asking questions to mean old men on Harleys who screamed things no so fitting for this blog - but no one had ever just straight laughed. Welcome to Tupelo. Anyhow, we had some donuts and tuned in via radio to listen to the start of the U.S. Slovenia game. We only stopped for about 15-20 minutes but when we stepped outside it had gotten HOT. With just over 50 miles to go, we all realized it was going to be a tough last day. But then George the weatherman/wizard promised overcast skies.

We were just knocking out our last few miles on the Trace when Mr. Gillespie caught up with us in the Sienna. He guided us to our exit and provided several riders with ice for the water that was warming rapidly in the late morning sun. Once we took a good long look at the map, we were ready to pound out a quick 15 miles to Pontotoc. Once there, we cruised into a gas station to cool off. We listened to the last bit of the U.S. World Cup game, amazed that the team had come back. The clerks were impressed enough that we were cycling to Oxford, and when we told them that we had made the trek from Jersey they were incredibly supportive of our finishing up. Cooled off, we stepped outside and immediately warmed up. We scurried across town, down highway 9 for five miles, and made the turn that we had all been waiting for - 334. "Oxford is down this street!" Conway quipped. Fatigue had set in heavily by this point, and our tight draft line morphed into a jumble of riders just putting one foot in front of the other. We got a big boost crossing into Lafayette county and stopping to alert friends and family of our impending arrival. Then, George's promised overcast magically rolled in, protecting us down the last roads. As we neared 100 miles for the day, Conway began to recognize the roads and we realized that we were on home turf. Quickly, we hit Fudgetown Road and crossed highway 7 to South Lamar. We were really just running on adrenaline at this point. We soon came upon flashing lights - the team moms had organized a police escort for the home stretch! More importantly, close friends Tim Burkhead and Peyton Weems were tailing the police car blasting Journey and K'Naan's "Waving Flag." The last mile was a blur, with horns honking and people yelling. We neared the square and saw a crowd of people on the courthouse lawn welcoming us! After the obligatory victory lap around the courthouse and giving our thanks to the police (it was the nicest police had ever been to several of us), we pulled up in front of dearest family and friends - one of the greatest feelings in the world.

A huge thanks to those that came out for our finish and those that supported us along the way. Summary thoughts to come from the team, so stay tuned. TDS is decidedly NOT oscar mike. - PJD