MONTEREY

I thought I'd give you guys a few days worth of suspense in anticipation of this post- but also we've just been all over the place!

The whole gang woke up around 5:30 (got to sleep in) on our last ride day at the YMCA in Hollister, CA. We had a slow breakfast and then long route meeting as we discussed details for the day. Lisa's dad texted us his last News Update, Josh made a poem of facts for Monterey and our Program Director Natalie had a few words for us near the end. She spoke about how although we were ending this summer long adventure, we'd forever be a part of this special group of people that can always relate to 4am wake ups, having first lunch at 9am, and riding with a group of 29 of your new closest friends. There was a lot of sentiment in her words but we still haven't had to time to properly comprehend them and understand it all. We then ended with a mashup of all of the epic chants from the summer. I'd like to really emphasis the word epic...

I rode with Sarah, Jenna, Neil, Josh, and Noah- a full crew and wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We had a shorter 48 mile day. It started with a 1000 foot climb that was on a terrible road surface but once we reached the top we saw it- like the curtains being raised on the revealing of a new car, the Pacific Ocean. We hit bad headwinds but stopped for Costco pizza to slow down the ride and keep our spirits up. Although we knew the end was in sight we wanted to draw it out for as long as possible. 

We met up with the rest of the team about 2 miles out from the beach, so we could all ride that portion together. We were on a very busy boardwalk and felt like a huge inconvenience at times but the "we biked here from Florida"s made it all okay.

We arrived at the beach to be greeted by family and champagne and signs galore. We repeated the mashup chant and then pranced into the water. It wasn't as cold as we expected but enough to get weird looks from bystanders. We didn't care much at that point because WE BIKED HERE FROM FLORIDA!!!

After the ceremonial wheel dip we had subs, fresh fruit, and beer that parents picked up and some bicycle cookies that my mom found at a local bakery.

We then had a few hours to shower, change, and then meet back up on the beach for a Rider's Only bonfire. Chipotle donated burritos, Sarah's aunts got us a cake, Tucker's mom the fireword, and more families donated drinks. It was a beautiful evening that I can't put into words because it will only take away from how purely excellent it was. We all went back to our host in Montery for our final night together and more dancing (always).