San Diego !!

ON NOVEMBER 15, 2011 WE RODE 41 MILES FROM OCOTILLO, CA TO OCEAN BEACH PARK, SAN DIEGO, CA. AFTER RIDING THROUGH SOME BUSY STREETS WE MADE A FINAL TURN ONTO THE OCEAN BEACH BIKE PATH. I TRIED DESPERATELY NOT TO LET MY MIND THINK ABOUT WHAT WE WERE ABOUT TO ACCOMPLISH. I COULD FEEL MY HEART POUNDING FASTER AS WE APPROACHED THE END OF THE PATH. WE COULD SEE THE PACIFIC OCEAN PEEKING ABOVE THE HORIZON AND 53 DAYS AND 3,900 MILES LATER, WERE HAD ARRIVED.

WE HOPPED OFF OUR BIKES AND WALKED THEM DOWN TO THE WATER'S EDGE. JIM HAD FOUND HIMSELF A SURF BOARD AND WAS JUST COMING OUT OF THE WATER TO MEET US. AFTER A FEW PICTURES WITH OUR FRONT WHEELS IN THE WATER, I STRIPPED DOWN AND DOVE INTO THE SALTY OCEAN. OH, WHAT A FEELING.

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ONCE WE STOPPED PEDALING OUR MINDS BEGAN RACING AS WE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO WITH THE RV, THE JEEP, OUR BIKES AND GEAR, OURSELVES.....

WITH THE SAME GUSTO THAT WE BIKED ACROSS THIS COUNTRY WITH WE BEGAN, WITH THE HELP OF KEVIN'S FRIEND DON LASPESA (AKA DON DIEGO), A MAJOR OVERHAUL ON THE RV. WITHIN 36 HOURS WE GUTTED IT, CLEANED IT, DETAILED IT AND FOUND A GREAT PLACE TO STORE IT. PHEW!!

WE SOON REALIZED HOW MUCH GEAR WE ACTUALLY HAD AND IT WAS GOING TO BE A HUGE UNDERTAKING TO PACK AND SHIP IT ALL BACK TO NEW YORK. SO WE DECIDED TO RENT A U HAUL, PACK IT TO THE BRIM AND DRIVE BACK.

3 DAYS LATER THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE DOING.....

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MY TIME AWAY FROM THIS BLOG HAS HELPED ME TO BEGIN WHAT I IMAGINE WILL BE A LONG PROCESS OF TAKING IN THIS INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE. TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I THINK A PART OF ME DIDN'T WANT TO WRITE THE "FINAL" BLOG AS IT WOULD MEAN THIS JOURNEY WAS TRULY OVER.

FOR 53 DAYS AND 3,900 MILES OUR HEADS WERE DOWN AND OUR LEGS SPINNING-  WE FOCUSED ON OUR DAILY ROUTINE AND THE CHALLENGES THAT LAY AHEAD OF US WITHIN THOSE 75, 85, 111 (!!) MILES. WHEN A TRIP OF THIS CALIBER ENDS IT TAKES DAYS AND MAYBE WEEKS (MONTHS?) TO REALLY ABSORB WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED. AND, COME TO THINK OF IT, I SUPPOSE THE ONLY PART OF THIS JOURNEY THAT IS OVER IS THE PHYSICAL ONE....I IMAGINE I'LL BE REFLECTING ON AND TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME TO COME.

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TODAY WAS A VERY SPECIAL DAY - I REACHED THEN SURPASSED MY $10,O00 FUNDRAISING GOAL!!!!! AND TO THINK THAT MY ORIGINAL GOAL WAS $5,000. IN FACT, RIGHT BEFORE THE RIDE BEGAN, WHEN SHANNON CUTS (THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MENTORCONNECT) EMAILED ME TO ASK WHAT I WANTED MY OFFICIAL GOAL TO BE, I FOUND MYSELF THINKING, "WHAT THE HECK, LET'S GO FOR IT" AND I WROTE BACK "LET'S GO FOR $10,000". AND TODAY WE REACHED THAT GOAL! WHAT A WONDERFUL FEELING TO HAVE RAISED THIS MUCH MONEY FOR A CAUSE SO NEAR AND DEAR TO ME - IT IS BEYOND WORDS.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MAKE THIS JOURNEY SO SPECIAL AND SUCCESSFUL. I WAS DELIGHTED TO GET EMAILS, PHONE CALLS, BLOG COMMENTS AND TEXT MESSAGES FROM MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY ALONG THE WAY. THANK YOU TO MY WONDERFUL PARENTS, BROTHER AND SISTER, MY CLOSE FRIENDS (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE), THE NEW FRIENDS I MET, OUR SUPPORT CREW (JIM ARNOLD, CHIP RUMPH, JEFF GREGOR) AND, A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO KEVIN HARRINGTON - MY PARTNER IN CRIME/COMPADRE/SUPPORTER/MOTIVATOR ETC........I LOVE YOU ALL!!

UNTIL MY NEXT JOURNEY...

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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain