SAN DIEGO!!!! PACIFIC OCEAN!!!!

Today was a 73mile ride up 4,000ft in elevation into Julian California. It was a rough ride! Through the desert mountains and a rainstorm. I thought it was downhill after the rockies, but boy was I mistaken! Hopefully its downhill our last 2 ride days since we’re going to sea level. Julian is such a cute town! Nice little shops, homemade apple pie cafes, cider, breweries, and various jams and fudge! We walked around a bit and came back to the church where I took a wonderful baby wipe shower. We have been reviewing 15 of the affordable housing grants and we will be voting this evening. It’s been interesting! Almost to San Diego! Thanks for reading!

The 55 mile ride into El Cajon was amazing! It was mostly downhill but through such a pretty area. We were basically in the suberbs of San Diego! We stayed at a high school library for the evening and woke up early to get to the beaches of San Diego! The ride today was incredible. Best day! We started off getting starbucks and then set off for 26 beautiful miles. We made our way through Mission Bay area and up to La Jolla. I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time!!! We met as a team for the last mile and ran into the water together! There were way too many people and they were all staring at us not understanding. The many folks just going for a normal beach day didn’t understand that we have biked for the past two and a half months and we were now at our final destination! Many asked questions and we shared some of what we had done. We celebrated with champagne too! There were sea lions there for the party! Some parents were there and Mark Bush, the Bike&Build founder. We enjoyed a picnic there and just soaking in the fact that we had come all this way and there it was, the ocean! Most importantly, we are here safe!!! There is risk involved with anything you do, its just a matter of doing what you can to be as safe and trusting drivers. I'm very thankful to be here safe and sound. 26 out of 28 riders from my route completed the cross country adventure. We are staying at a church for the next two nights and a group of us got a hotel at the Westin downtown for a good deal! I was able to get my bike shipped (hopefully) after must frustration and stress. I can only hope it gets home safe now! We had a hose shower and then a fish taco dinner on the beach and had our final team town hall meeting. We shared our favorite moments on the trip and watched a slide show with many pictures from beginning to end of our trip. Its been such an amazing summer. I’m not even sure how to explain the feeling today. Simply accomplished I suppose. I’m grateful for this experience and thankful for everyone who has been supporting me. Thank you thank you thank you! This has for sure been a life changing experience and a big eye opener for me for various opportunities. I remember over a year ago when I first contemplated this idea of biking cross country. Now, I wonder why I was so hesitant.  ITS AMAZiNG! I would advise anyone (18-28) to do Bike&Build. The fundraising is a bit challenging, there are hard moments on the trip, but anyone can bike cross country if you simply put your mind to it. I’ll continue to post about my adventures in San Diego! Thanks for reading!