Oh by the way... WE MADE IT!!!

We Made It!

Ya ya I know, left you all with a bit of cliffhanger there for a while. But we made it to Paris!  Then we promptly got sucked into a whirlwind of celebration, recovery, and flying home to submerge back into real life.  But here's how it all went down...

Our final day of the Réve Tour was simply amazing.  It was a bit surreal to be honest.  It didn't feel like we just rode 3,497 kilometers or that we'd been out there for 3 weeks.  We started out the day just like every other day.  We packed up our riding gear, made the transfer to the start of the stage, got the bikes prepped and ready to go, and then we were off!  Our little 5 pack rode together most of the way, laughing about our crazy moments, remembering the struggles, but mostly just relieved that we all were so close to completing this challenge together!

A little yellow to bring us into Paris

Riding into Paris was simply put, indescribable.  We were all a bit silent, taking in each moment, concentrating on not hitting all of the "road furniture" in the middle of the roads, and just taking our first full breaths of relief in 23 days.  And then all at once as we're riding alongside the Seine, we glance over to our right and there it is!  The dream we've been chasing all month and it's even more beautiful that I remembered.  The Eiffel Tower.  Success.

Of course, we weren't riding to the Eiffel Tower, so we passed by with a moment of joy and headed on through traffic toward the Champs-Elysees.  Finally, weaving our way in and out of the cars, we made it to the Obelisk where we were to meet our Fléchure friends so they could escort us up the Champs.

Oh wow, this was one of the most amazing moments of the entire trip, and of my life.  We're riding up the Champs-Elysees, 6 abreast, with the Fléchage van horns ringing, our photo car's horn blaring in celebration, random pedestrians stopping to cheer and taking photos, and then we're there, the Arch de Triumph.  Fitting. Triumph.

Cutting through traffic once again we make it to the center of the traffic circle and meet our families and friends and supporters out at the Arch.  We're immediately swarmed with hugs, cheers, tears, and so many smiles.  We made it... deep breath.

Thanks to Kym's mom, we immediately receive hot pink champagne flutes and champagne and began toasting every moment of the trip.  Everything is in a whirlwind, we're being booted off the Arch by the police, trying to dodge through traffic once more so we can meet the amazing Cannondale crew out on the other side, and then it all starts to sink in... We're here.  We're done.  For real this time.  It takes a few reminders that this isn't just another daydream of this day.  It's actually here and it feels so good!

The rest of our time in Paris was a bit of a blur.  More food, more champagne, more wine, more laughs, smiles, tears.  More drama, more snide comments from some of our support crew, but most of all more love, respect, and gratitude between my amazing teammates and friends.

The next day, we headed back down to the Champs-Elysees to watch the men finish and talk to some media about our story.  What a circus it was down by the race!  So many people and so much excitement for the riders arrive!  I could feel the energy sinking in through my skin.  Here we are, surrounded by thousands and thousands of people who share this undying love and support for cycling.  It was overwhelmingly crazy but such an important experience after having been out there all month riding the same roads and the same kilometers as the men.


We spent some time enjoying the Paris nightlife and spent more time with the Cannondale crew. Unfortunately I came down with the "Dutch Plague" as we called it and spent my time in Paris feeling pretty awful.  But I did manage to get out the last day and head down to the Eiffel Tower with a coffee and some cherries from a little street market to write some notes and take a nap in a park nearby.

And then, in what felt like a blink of the eye, I was leaving France and on my way home to Boulder.  Well, the travel sure wasn't a blink... After several delays, missed flight, extra connections, a second bike charge, and 24hrs later, I finally made it home and straight into Nick's arms.  My amazing parents were also at the airport with some yellow, green, white, and polka dotted balloons!  So cute!

Flower in Paris hotel room from Nick!

I've been home nearly two weeks now and life is getting back to its normal craziness.  Nick and I just spent the whole last week packing everything up and moving to our new beautiful house!  Now we just need to start unpacking everything... ugh.  I'm back at work at the lab and so thankful to the other lab members and to Norm for supporting me through all these crazy adventures that I seem to be taking on more and more frequently.  And yes, I'm back to some triathlon training.  You all thought I was going to quit and just be a cyclist huh?  Ya, me too.  But spending some time back in the pool and out on the trails with some running shoes has helped me rediscover my love for this sport.  I have the rest of my race season somewhat figured our and I'm excited to take on some new challenges and races coming up.

Home :)

The Réve Tour was one of the life-changingly-awesome experiences.  I made some of the most amazing friends, learned a whole hell of a lot about myself and my abilities, saw a gorgeous country in a way not many people have, and hopefully helped inspire people to ride their bikes more or take on more challenges.

But most of all, I came away with a sense of clarity about what an amazing life I live and how lucky I am to have my family, friends, Nick, and Cori Dog to dream up more adventures with and head out to do big things!  Onward!