From California Dreamin' to California Reality

THIS WAS IT!!! Our final day.

We had dreamed about how it would be for months. Would seeing the Pacific Ocean after almost 3300 miles pedaling be as glorious as we imagined? Would the reality live up to the fantasies?

First we had to climb another huge four mile hill before the mountain chain was topped. It was slow and arduous. Finally, we got to what the topographical maps indicated was a continuous downhill all the way to the ocean. WRONG AGAIN! We had scary screaming downhills, but also several really steep climbs. Generally, however, it was downhill to the outskirts of San Diego. We then had all kinds of twists and turns and crossings with numerous road changes. We were anxious- we wanted to get on the bike path that led to the ocean. On one of the last really steep hills before the path, a lady shouted encouragement and gave us a thumbs up from her car. We started smelling the ocean breeze and the emotions began.

Finally we got on the path. Unfortunately it was several miles of bumpy concrete slabs and peppered with hobos and discarded furniture and belongings. Was this going to be anticlimactic? With about two miles to go, the bike trail became beautiful, following the San Diego River. We put on the rousing finale of Beethoven's 7th Symphony on Kelley's phone. At the ultimate moment, we saw the ocean. It was brilliant blue and it was beautiful. Bruce turned to Kelley and whispered "We did it." Then we both embraced and bawled. We held the embrace for several minutes as onlookers gawked.

We pushed our laden bikes through the thick sand to the water's edge. Just as we had dipped our back tires in the Atlantic Ocean, we were now going to dip our front tires in the Pacific Ocean. Bookends of a journey of a lifetime.

After we pushed our bikes (now even heavier with wet sand stuck to the wheels!) back to the path, we sat on a bench for a long while just staring in silence at the ocean. Then we spent several minutes reliving the experience before heading to our lodging.

Did the reality match the dream? It was better than either of us could have imagined!

Total cycling mileage: 54

Total hiking mileage: 4