I was back on the bike for the final day of riding by 6:30am, but before riding I noticed that the goal for fundraising with the Lustgarten Foundation had been met! People's generosity in helping the goal be met by this final day of riding gave me an extra push to continue onward. Before leaving Philadelphia, though, I made my way downtown. There wasn't much traffic to share the road with, and the weather made for great conditions to ride in. The first destination I wanted to check out was the city hall. It is situated on a square in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, and the city's layout is oriented around it. From a distance, the building appears imposing even in the shadows of surrounding skyscrapers. Prior to these aforementioned skyscrapers existing, city hall's 548 foot spire made it the tallest structure in Philadelphia for quite some time. City hall also boasts over 700 rooms! This was a neat place, but I was most interested in the next stop. Independence Hall, this morning's second point of interest, was about half a mile away from city hall. When I arrived, I learned that the Liberty Bell was not open to the public for viewing until 9:00am. No matter, though, as I could see it through a window where it is housed in a museum. I took my time checking out both sides of Independence Hall: one that is street-side and the opposite which is in front of a square. As I thought about our founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution I wondered: if they were around today, what would our forefathers make of the current state of our nation? It is astounding that so much of what they stood for is so relevant to this day. Preserving and protecting the free press and actively opposing tyranny were what immediately came to mind. By 7:30am, traffic was picking up, and I felt the need to start riding out of the city. Crossing the Delaware River by way of the Benjamin Franklin bridge was a more laborious task than I had anticipated. The north pedestrian pathway across the bridge was open, but the south pedestrian pathway was not. The latter would have been preferred, because I didn't have to disconnect and reconnect the trailer twice for going down and up staircases. In order to get to the north pedestrian pathway, going underneath the highway was necessary, which was only possible by staircase. When I was halfway across the bridge, the pathway narrowed considerably and parts of it were almost too narrow to pass through with the bike and trailer. Its width was comparable to that of a catwalk. Once at the opposite end, one final staircase stood between where I was on the bridge and stepping foot into New Jersey. I was already drenched in sweat from all the back and forth with disconnecting and reconnecting the bike and trailer! Once on New Jersey soil, I continued riding toward Atlantic City. The next 10-15 miles featured the poorest continuous stretch of roads that I had ridden on during the entire trip. Saving the worst for last, I guess? I stopped in Audubon for coffee and muffins. There was rain forecasted down the road, and there was a chance I would miss it by advancing toward Atlantic City at a slower pace. This was all fine by me, as today was a short, flat ride. When I was far away enough from the urban sprawl around Camden, I was pedaling along the countryside of Camden and Atlantic counties. I primarily rode along county highways, but was on state highways here and there. The state highways all had a shoulder with a generous width. Eventually, seven of the final 14 miles were on a paved, lightly traveled bike path. During this segment, there were few clouds in the sky, and it appeared that the remainder of the day would be sunny. After the bike path ended, I rode along a few surface streets along a bay between the mainland and the coast. Along here, it became overcast and increasingly foggy. With three miles to go, I could taste the salt in the air from the Atlantic Ocean; a sensory experience most recently had at the start of the trip over in Newport, OR. The fog became denser, which made for an eerie ride into Atlantic City. From the highway, I rode directly to the boardwalk. With a quarter of a mile to go to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, I stopped for a rest on a bench along the boardwalk. Sitting and reflecting on the trip was necessary. In fact, I think I preferred having this opportunity to be by myself rather than being immediately welcomed by anyone. Stopping... just stopping, and being alone with my thoughts was necessary. I thought about the high points of the trip, the low points, and as much of everything in between as I could. Despite this pensive mood, it had yet to fully sink in that I had ridden across the country. Thinking about the many great people I met along the way in addition to seeing family and friends along the way fell short of reassuring me that I had completed the coast-to-coast trek. Perhaps dipping my bike's tire in the ocean would be reassuring enough? I made my way down to the beach, and disconnected the trailer from the bike. While doing this, the sun reappeared from behind cloud cover. From here, I wheeled the bike toward a lifeguard tower in hopes that one of the three lifeguards on duty could snap a few photographs. One of them was happy to assist, and I made the ceremonial tire dip into the Atlantic Ocean. I also managed to lift my bike over my head despite an awkward grip with the broken finger on my left hand! Stepping foot into the Atlantic Ocean made the conclusion of the trip seem and feel a bit more real, but the conclusion had yet to come full circle. This experience was similar to the end of last summer's trip, so I anticipated that time would eventually make the end of this trip come full circle. I left Atlantic City and made the short trip up to Brigantine Beach, where I was staying for the evening. I figured I could take in the boardwalk with my brothers once they got into town, so a quieter evening in Brigantine was an easy sell. Hopefully resting and having a filling meal would help me snap into reality: the coast-to-coast trip had concluded!
