Well, I got home Saturday night to my family waiting for me in baggage claim.  What a feeling to be back in the arms of my wife and children.  This was a wonderful adventure for a worthy cause, one that I will continue to support for many years to come, but I do not want to be away from my family for that long again.  My hat is off to all of the military folks of the world - the sacrifice you make, and the one that your family makes when you are gone from home for long periods of time is one that you do not get enough respect for.  Thank you for providing the rest of us with the safety that we take for granted.  We went to dinner and drank margaritas!

On Sunday, we slept in a bit, and then went to our church for the 11:00 service.  Doug Campbell and his family were there and it was really great to see them.  We hugged and talked and shared.  What an inspiration he is to me.  We saw many of our church buddies (shame on those of you who skipped!) and the feeling of affirmation that I got from being amongst all of those people was great!  Oh, it felt good to be home.  Afterwards, we ate and then went home and floated in the pool and chilled out (or rather warmed up after all of the cold days on the ride).  Todd and Selva Griffith came over for dinner and we killed two fabulous bottles of wine that they had been saving for a special occasion.  They said that this was just the occasion - I wanted to protest, but then again, being back with our most cherished and oldest friends was indeed a great occasion!

Sunday night, as I got ready for bed I looked in the mirror and thought about shaving off the beard that I have grown.  Protests came from Jennifer and both kids, so I agreed to at least let the office and all of our friends see it.  I was able to reconnect with the Cooper family.  Not only is Terry our Vice-President and part owner of ABC DFW, he and his family are also some of our most cherished friends.  It was funny to see his reaction to the beard, since when I interviewed him over 15 years ago, the first time I did not hire him and chastised him for having a beard when coming in for an interview.  They had a sign welcoming me home, of course it said “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins” with the “Roscoe” scratched out and “Dennis” added in above it in what looked like marker with a note on the bottom that said “sorry - we forgot your name!”.  They also had a picture of me that I took myself that was at the “Liquor between the Peaks Saloon” with a beer in hand.

Things quickly settled back into a normal pattern.  I have kept the beard for this week because the youth at our church are away and I want to get the shock reaction from them too.  Jennifer and I work with the youth at church and we are close to them.

At this point my feelings are somewhat mixed.  First and foremost, I am so happy to be home.  Being back in the arms of my wife and kids is a feeling that nothing in this world can give.  I also have a longing feeling for the ride.  I miss the regimen of the bike riding and the closeness with my brothers and mother.  Finally, there is a surreal feeling like “did we really just do that?”  I find that I look at the blogs on a daily basis to really cement the memories in my mind.  I plan to have all of the blog entries and pictures printed and bound into a book that we keep.  I may even share it with my brothers - for a price.

I again want to thank all of you that have been following our adventure.  The words that you expressed and just knowing that you were following us and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers gave us the strength and fortitude to go on when it was not easy to go on.  Also, I want to thank those of you who made donations to our charities, it is through that fund raising that we hope to make this ride not only an adventure, but something that has a lasting impact on others.

I want to thank my brothers and my mother.  You mean more to me today than ever before.  This memory will be one we cherish more and more as the years go by.  We will remember the good times and the difficult memories will fade fast.  (Bobby - I still will not go with you again when you turn 60)

To update my medical condition, the blood is gone from my urine after two episodes at the very end of the ride.  I have had blood work and urinalysis and a renal sonogram that have all showed that I am fine.  Apparently, when pushing your body to extreme limits, sometimes that “just happens” and I hope that is the case.

As a side note, when I agreed to go on this journey in April of 2008, I weighed 272 lbs and was wearing pants with a waist measurement of 40″ that were getting tight.  Today I weigh 219 lbs and this morning, I put on pants with a 36″ waist that is still comfortable to wear.  I have not worn 36″ pants since I was in my 20’s.  In addition, I just feel really good.  My intention is to continue riding.  I love riding and have buddies that helped me train (thanks Doug, Jeff, and Tim) and I look forward to riding with them as soon as my bike is back from Calgary.  I have vowed to never again weigh more than I do now (and hopefully a little less!)

Grace and Peace

Dennis