Day 7; Ventura to LA

Day 7; Ventura to LA

This is it. The last day.  I am excited!  I have been on the best vacation ever!!  And now off to finish the journey.  I wake up next to Jose, a great way to start my day.  So as not to wake him at 545 AM, I quietly get into cycling gear and head out to my bike.  I grab a bite to eat at breakfast, call Romi (she is still not even out of her tent :)) and read the days news.  I wanted to leave camp as soon as the route opened in order to get to LA sooner than later since I had people there waiting for me (granted, they were still asleep in the hotel I was out, but still, their trip was 1.5 hours.  Mine was going to be at least 6). When I get to the bike area, there are a hundred or so other cyclists gearing up to leave.  And a sea of eggs.  Annually, and traditionally, the Chicken Lady, whom I’ve mentioned before, puts out chicken eggs on every cyclists seat overnight.  Super cool and I was excited to get my egg and read the note from her.

Waking up, at the bikes, Chicken Lady leaves her signature eggs on every cyclists seat.  I have an orange egg. The message inside reads, "May the reason you commited to ride this week be a song of hope for all the world to sing forever. ♥ Love, Chicken Lady, ALC11"  There is also a life saver candy inside that has a note saying "You are a true lifesaver"

Rows of bikes, early in the morning, all with an egg on it :0) Thanks Chicken Lady!!

Gorgeous day for a ride.  There are only two rest stops today and lunch.  The eagerness to finish the ride is hard to resist.  I am ready to cross the finish line.  I make quick use of the pit stops, enjoying the sights and sounds and views the coastal ride provides.  You can smell the salt air hit your nose.  It is desolate in the sense that it is the coast and hills.  Along the way I meet pig lady team captain, who you saw her car on the entire route as she is there to cheer on her team, and then condom man, a quirky guy who cheers us on every day in a different outfit.  There was one neat area where the sand from the beach was swept along the hillside and caused sand dunes.  It was so awesome in that the elements to do this were fierce and relentless, but it was so quiet and peaceful. 

Creepy viagra, condom man.  A staple of ALC.  Had to get a pic with him.

A pic for my sister.  There was a pig team.  Told her that that was the best team name and I neded a pic to send to my sister, a fellow pig lover.

More great views.  Though desolete looking, a nice ride right on the ocean.

We ride through Malibu and past Cher’s house, where a rider each year waves flags from her driveway entrance and cheers us up the big hill right before her house.  And then I get to see Ellen!  My best friend, she stopped in Malibu with her husband and mom to cheer me on from the side of the road.  Though our visit is brief so I don’t go into muscle shock from not moving, it was great to see them and have them tell me how proud they were of me.  They also had a sign to cheer me and Team San Diego on!

Lunch.  I  see a few other Team San Diego riders.  We eat lunch and discuss if we should ride out.  Well, Team San Diego wants to ride in as a Team.  What??  I was perplexed by this.  Through all our training, it was meet up, safety speech ride out, everyone disperses quickly due to riding ability, and then leave when you get to your car.  There were no big meet up events, nights out, picnics, etc.  So I never really felt like a team.  I met and got along great with a lot of them, and am now friends with some of them.  But to call us a team, it never got to that level with me.  We were acquaintances riding together whom I made friends with some along the way.  I thought it odd to call us a team on the last day of the ride. I call my friends who were going to meet me in Ventura.  They said they were at least an hour and a half away.  I was only a half hour away.  So I opted to wait for Team San Diego to ride in. 

Getting all of us together and ride out took some logistical planning, but we have some vocal people on our team, so they were able to wrangle us all together.  We finish out through Malibu.  My goodness, this was scary.  Traffic was backed up and it was a slow line of cyclists.  Cars abounded and we had to be uber cautious of our actions, as well as all the cars and other cyclists.  We go slow and we make it out of this congestion in one piece.

The wife and I!

What is up with the wet crotch look??

Nessa and I!!!!

 We meet up again as a Team outside a coffee house.  We are a mile out and ready to cross the finish line.  I have my ride wife by my side and we are ready to do this.  Luckily for me, David, my friend and his sister pass us in their SAG truck.  They pull over just ahead of us to cheer us on.  That meant the world to me :)  The actual finish line is a row of barricades with supporters cheering you on from the sidelines.  It is hard to find anyone, but so many people want to give you a high five.  So we rode, Team San Diego, through the barricades, pumping our fists and cheering and high fiving supporters.  Towards the balloon finish line, I spot Team Ricky, supporting me and cheering me in!  Yay!!!!  I felt so proud.  I felt like an athlete; a hero.  I felt the love bubble drowning me in its sea of love and happiness.  I stop right next to Suzi.  With tears in our eyes, from one of my best emotional supporter TRL’s, we hug.  The most genuine and heartfelt hug :)  Then Team Ricky comes running in and cheering for me.  Hugs abound and some of the best boyfriend kisses to date!  Tears and sweat combine as I feel my friends and boyfriends love upon me.  It was incredible.  Also, a nice slap in the ass from Jose was the best congratulations I could ask for! :)

We take celebratory pics, store the bikes and hug all around us.  I introduce and show off my friends to my new family. 

Angela and I.  She is a beast (in a good way).  Homegirl can ride like no other.  Super rad as hell too!

OK. So it was more like 495 miles, but nonetheless, here is the celebratory pic!

Finished!

Jose and I ♥

I am part of a bigger family now.  I am an ALC veteran. I am a hero, and I accept that.  That was the hardest thing to accept.  But I am a hero.  We line up for the closing ceremonies.  We raised, 12.6 Million dollars!!!!  How awesome.  They recap the ride with pictures and videos.  Lori Jean and others talk.  Team Ricky like the event and feel closer to what ALC is and closer to this cause.  Danny gets a sunburn. 

We take a celebratory dinner at El Cholo.  So good!!  I was soooo hungry (hello, I burned 3500-4500 calories a day) and had a couple drinks.  We talked about the ride and about each other.  We celebrated my accomplishment, our friendship and our mini love bubble at that table.  I celebrated a buzz, two cocktails after no drinking for a week and all that calories burned, it didn’t take much :)

We go home.  Jose and I together, in one car, just the two of us.  We pass by this place on the coast where weeks earlier I cried over Ricardo.  Jose was playing a song that day that was similar to the style of music that Ricardo used for his choreography.  It made me miss him that day.  I was so happy this day though.  I had my buddy, my mentor Ricardo looking over me at that moment.  He was proud of me, I felt it.  I placed my hand on Jose’s leg. The love was emanating from my hand to him and vice versa.  I was at peace, present, and filled to the brim with love.  That night, I got to spend the night in his arms. ♥

"Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

Franklin P. Jones (1887-1929)

I have finished peddling.