Today was one of those days where my emotions couldn’t seem to stay settled on one particular feeling. I was totally excited to get back on my bike and riding down the beautiful coast line of Southern California. I was also feeling a bit of loss knowing that this was all going to be coming to end.

We started the morning on the beautiful San Buenaventura beach in Ventura. Everyone was excited to be up and riding today. We were busy trying to get our Cal team together for our fully “jerseyed-up” team picture. I love these guys, but sometimes it’s like herding cats to get things done with them. There was so much energy in the group it seemed like it took forever to get them gathered together for a picture.

Once we were on the road, the riding was pretty easy. It was mostly flat as we made our way out of Ventura and down through Oxnard. I spent the first half of this ride riding with my teammate Sam who is also a Training Ride Leader. We cycled and talked about everything from the overall ride to the constant (often nagging) desire to go pee. Note: When you spend seven days drinking water and electrolytes, you end up peeing more than you ever thought possible.

After making our way to Hwy 1, we were treated with a beautiful morning ride along the Pacific. This part of the ride is always special to me. I remember visiting my great-grandmother who lived in Ventura when I was little. Hearing the sound of the waves crashing on the shore brought back clear memories of my dad taking me to the beach on that trip.

The other thing that I really enjoy about this day are the dolphin sitings. I remember riding several years ago when a fellow rider, Randy (a 70+ year old woman from New York and bad ass rider), told me that the dolphins were my good luck charm for a safe ride. I saw them again today as I cycled and thought of her. She’s no longer riding, but I often wonder how she’s doing.

We continued riding down the coast passing fellow riders and chatting as we rode. Sam and I decided to skip Rest Stop 2 so that we could get to lunch sooner and hangout for awhile.

Lunch was at a beautiful park in Malibu across from Pepperdine University. We rode into lunch quite early which gave me time to take a nap while waiting for my fellow Cal riders. This was our last rest stop together because the next stop (a mere 16 miles away) was the finish line.

The last 16 miles were filled with excitement, a bit of amazement and a touch of sadness knowing this would all soon end. Peddling these last few miles was fun. Everybody was excited and cheering as we made our way down into Santa Monica and up onto San Vicente Blvd. Since I was well ahead of the rest of my teammates, I stopped by the Peet’s Coffee on San Vicente just outside of the finish line at the Veteran’s Administration to sit and relax. As other’s made their way, gathered at the ride-in to cheer other teams into the finish. It wasn’t long before we say a sea of blue and gold. As they rode up, we hopped on our bikes and joined them for ride in.

It was an amazing sight–people cheering and laughing, music playing, and everyone celebrating. Some of our Cal riders broke into tears as the realization of their accomplishment settled in. I know there were more than a few on our team who never thought they would be able to make this journey. It was great seeing them cross the finish so strong.

For me, this whole adventure didn’t start seven days ago when one Sunday morning we rolled out of the Cow Palace with 2500 other cyclists. It began nine months ago when we sent out an email to all of campus announcing a meeting for any interested in riding their bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles. About 10 people showed up to that first meeting–10 people who’s faces would become as familiar as family members.

Over the next several months we added more “family members” to our posse–each with different backgrounds, experiences, and reasons for riding. I think one of our team members said it best when, in describing our team, he said, “We’re all so different, so eclectic. The other teams are more corporate. They aren’t built on an idea like the Cal team. We were brought together by something we all believe. We’re all unique and different, but we share something in common. I like it that way.”