July 16, 2003 Oh, the joy! Spoken by William Clark, Corps of Discovery, on November 7, 1805 as he viewed what he thought was the Pacific Ocean. In reality, what he and his men saw was the mouth of the Columbia. They were still about 20 miles from Astoria, and would take about a week to actually reach the ocean. Spoken again by LaValle Linn and Ron Zell on July 16, 2003 as they stood at the Pacific Ocean after completing their journey from Dewey Beach, DE to Astoria, OR, and realizing a dream - crossing our wonderful country via the routes utilized by Meriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery as they opened the West. The ride started in Dewey Beach, but the symbolic start was Washington, DC. From Washington, the route extended to Harper's Ferry, where Lewis picked up the armaments for his expedition, and on to Pittsburgh where he received the keel boat that formed the mainstay of his expedition flotilla. From Pittsburgh, the pair followed the Ohio River to Louisville where Clark joined his leader. The Ohio was then followed to the Mississippi, the Mississippi to the Missouri, the Missouri to the Jefferson and the Jefferson to the Bitter Root. After climbing the Bitter Root Mountains, the Team picked up the Lachsa, followed it to the Clearwater, followed the Clearwater to the Snake and the Snake to the Columbia. The Columbia lead them to Astoria, and the end of their journey. Well, after 62 days, 4340 miles and 138,000 feet of elevation gain, we are in Astoria, OR, and at the end of our journey. It is very hard to believe that we don't have to get on the bike tomorrow morning to go to another city. I think we will miss the daily ride, but we are very excited to finish, and are very happy that the end is here. We will miss the rivers, the beautiful scenery, the wonderful little towns, the people we have met along the way and the connection with one of the most famous and productive expeditions in history, but we have achieved our goal and it is time to reflect on that. We left Longview this morning at about 6:30 to make our final run. We rode through the town before it was really awake, and were again impressed with this city. We rode west on Highway 4 along the Columbia River, and our fabulous scenery returned. The river dominated, but the mountains and greenery painted a wonderful picture. The road was nice, the traffic light and the temperature cool, so we had a great ride. We rode west about 25 miles to the town of Cathlamet where we caught a ferry to cross the Columbia. We had time to kill, so we stopped in town for an espresso and scone and to look the city over. It was a fun little town. Soon after we left, we crossed a bridge and entered the Puget Island community. This is basically an agrarian island, and is very quiet. We soon found the ferry landing, and took our place. The ferry ride itself didn't take long, and we were soon walking the rig off the boat. As we left, we met the group of four cyclist that we had last seen in Lowell, ID - it was fun seeing them again, and what is the probability that we would meet them leaving as we were arriving? We were soon on Highway 30 heading into Astoria with about 26 miles to ride. At about 12:30, we pulled into town - our big goal. We checked into our hotel, and dropped BOB - he had done his work! We then set out for Fort Clatsop where the Corps of Discovery wintered in 1805-1806. Unlike Fort Mandan, Fort Clatsop is thought to be located at the original site of the expeditions fort, but like Mandan, Fort Clatsop is a reproduction of the original fort that is very well done. The fort is made up of two lines of cabins that are joined at both ends by gates and walls. As you are facing the fort, the enlisted men were housed on the left, and the Captains and interpreters were on the right. Unlike Mandan, Clatsop offered the men a lot of room. However, that was not compensation enought for the agony they suffered from the wet and fleas. They were not prepared for either, and their lives were miserable. They actually left too early because of these problems, and had to wait for the snow to melt to clear the Rocky Mountain passes. After visiting the fort, we rode out to Fort Stevens State Park to gain access to the ocean. People must have thought we were crazy because we simply picked up the bike and walked it to the waterline, so that the front wheel could have salt water from two oceans on it. We had our picture taken, and headed back to town. We were ready to get off the bike. We did, however, stop at a new Mexican Restaurant to have some dinner. It was good food, but we were both letting down from the realization of our goal, so there was not a lot of conversation. The bike had another good day, and the Team is no worse for the wear and tear. We now have a few days to rest and reflect on our trip. We are tired, happy, proud, excited and satisfied. This has been a wonderful adventure. Ron and LaValle Note from LaValle... the ride was an incredible journey -- the rivers, the mountains, the Rockies and the towns full of people. All of the people who we met were excited for us. Many helped us and I will be forever grateful.