Was up late blogging and otherwise meditating on my imminent end of trip so didn't get up till nearly seven. Toileted, then discovered that my lighter was out of butane. One of the other tenters had a blow torch, which he dialed down enough to light the stove; but then the flame went out as I was attempting to adjust it, and that person had already struck camp and left. Finally found someone in the main part of the campground who had a book of matches that he gave me.
When I finished preparing breakfast, I saw why the flame had gone out so easily: the fuel was virtually empty. The final drops I poured out gently on the picnic table top to evaporate away.
Fixed the front derailleur problem that had so been bugging me; the cable had slipped or stretched so that it no longer would go into top gear. The rear rack was loose; turned out that one of the critical screws was missing, so I stole a screw from somewhere else. Once everything was fixed and packed, I sat outside the toilet block for a half hour while my phone charged.
All the way over to US113 I was on quiet roads, up along the lake then through small towns, and a state forest where the sides of the road were strewn throughout with an amazing amount of litter. Once I emerged from the forest, the roadside litter went back to normal levels. Heading east I had a fairly stiff breeze in my face.
Joined 113 in Selbyville, just north of the Delaware-Maryland line, which I'd pretty much been following since the previous evening when I turned off the highway to head to the state park. Stopped for a Monster Java and an Arby's turkey sandwich on the Delaware side.
Sixteen kilometers south on 113 I came to Berlin and the turnoff for Assateague: getting close. When I turned off 376 onto south 611, I stopped to buy a bottle of wine for later celebration, plus a bar of scented soap. The cashier asked me where I was riding from and to and said to please post something on their Facebook page. I promised I would. She asked if I was going to spend the night on the island; I said I'd be riding on to Newark, MD. Really?! Your going to ride that much further? We're talking about less than fifteen miles.
Crossing the bike bridge to the island, I stopped to talk to three cyclists who were reading one of the historical plaques on the bridge. They asked where my final destination was, and I said "here". Why here, they asked -- as if Assateague were the strangest place in the world to end a cross-continent trek; so I explained about my friend Caroline/Turtle living nearby. (I also think the barrier islands are pretty cool.)
Headed to the state park beach directly over the bridge. There were maybe a couple dozen people in beach chairs or strolling along the beach. Tried to take my bike out into the very shallow areas where the waves just barely came in. But while I was struggling to compose a good photo, a much larger wave came in and knocked over the bike, getting me very wet at the same time. So I retreated with the bike and just took the front wheel out into the water.
Showered off the worst of the sand from my feet in the beachside shower block. Took a few last photos, then headed off more slowly back the way I came.
(My overall distance was 6032km or 3748mi.)
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