Day 33 LaJolla to Mexican Border 31 miles(1,669 miles total)

Canada to Mexico, Day 33: 

We rode 31 miles to... The Mexican border baby! Woo hoo! (1,669 miles total). I am still in a state of shock that we did it! It seems so surreal that I actually biked from the Canadian border to the Mexican border! I can't even describe how I am feeling right now. I don't think I've ever felt so many different emotions at once- from thrilled, to shocked, to proud, to sad, to emotions I don't even know if there are words for. I have learned so much from this ride. I've learned that I'm a whole lot tougher than I thought I was, I've learned that I can do anything that I set my mind to, I've learned that my family and I have the most incredible support system, I've learned that there is nothing more important than family, and I've learned that I am so fortunate to live in such a wonderful community surrounded by incredible neighbors, friends, and family. Actually, I knew all of this, but this ride just brought all of it out and confirmed everything I already knew. On my very first day of the ride, I posted a quick update about how far we traveled and a summary of our day. I never had any intentions of posting every day, doing a summary, and listing all the good and bad things about our day. I don't know how that all happened, but it just kind of grew from that first day and the rest is history. A tradition was started and continued throughout the ride. Many of you told me how you looked forwarded to the daily updates and how tearful you wold oftentimes be because of the posts; but you see folks, it's a two-way street. I would frequently cry from the comments and words of encouragement that YOU gave ME! Also, thinking about what I would post each night helped pass the time on some of those long, miserable days full of crappy weather and hills. So thank you as well! It really has been an honor to have you following our journey and cheering us on. I'm usually such a private person, but it has been so enjoyable to share our experiences with so many people (even when our experiences were downright miserable). I can't tell you how much it has meant to us to read all your encouraging, heartfelt words and to be continually reminded of how much you care for our family. It truly has meant the world to us. This ride was so much harder than I thought it would be, with so many challenges (including weather, hills, and bike problems). But you know what? I wouldn't change a thing about it. It wouldn't be the same if it was all easy sailing the whole time. I think all the challenges we had was nothing compared to the challenges of ALS. When this ride is all over and done with, I can go back to my regular life. But a person with ALS never goes back to a regular life and will continually face challenges far worse than what I had to, or will ever have to face. I am so proud that I have made a difference in the world of ALS- from awareness, to raising money for research and ultimately, a cure. I will never regret doing this ride! Up until about 6 days ago, we didn't think Costa Rica would ever happen. With all of our setbacks, we got behind schedule and it was looking like we wouldn't arrive on time to go to Costa Rica. I had many tearful moments in which I envisioned trading in my Costa Rica plane tickets for tickets home. But there was never a question that I wouldn't finish the ride. This was a charity ride, people had donated, and people were following our journey. There was no way I was stopping early, even if it meant no Costa Rica. But as you can see, we made it work and I'm so excited to see my sister and her family and to get some much needed R and R! Again, it had been an honor beyond words to have you follow us on our journey and I will never be able to adequately tell you how much I appreciate it. The support has been overwhelming (in a very good way)! I, too, am sad that the updates will come to an end, but if you aren't too sick of me, I will do an epilogue update, as well as Costa Rica updates. Summary of our ride: ALS is bad; fundraising, support, encouragement, hope, and riding from Canada to Mexico on bikes is pretty darn good!

Day 32 Laguna Beach to LaJolla 65 miles(1,638 miles total)

Canada to Mexico, Day 32: 

We rode 65 miles to La Jolla (1,638 miles total). The bad news is that I'm sad that tomorrow will be our last day of riding. The good news is that tomorrow will be our last day of riding! As you can see, I have mixed emotions about our last day. One part of me is sad (and I never thought I'd say that) and another part of me is ecstatic. And then there are a thousand other emotions in-between. I don't know, I can't explain it. But I'll save my emotional update for tomorrow. For today's post, I'll do a hodgepodge of things. Summary of our ride thus far: throwing my bike down and bawling alongside the road because the headwinds are so severe I feel like I'm on a stationary bike, being told at 7:30 at night (after almost 12 hours of riding and crying) that there are no available hotels in the area because of a special event going on, begging a park ranger at 8:30 at night to please let us set up our tents on the "RV only" campground because there are no available campgrounds or hotels in the area (and being told no), riding our bikes at 8:45 pm (in the dark) and backtracking (in other words- losing precious miles we had ridden) to a campground, setting up our tents in the dark, and sharing a can of Pringles for dinner in our tent because we had nothing else to eat is VERY bad! (all those events took place on the day that had been erased from my memory, but those memories resurfaced for your entertainment). Gatorade, "Finding Friends" app (in which my dad has been able to track us the whole time), calorie burning, guard rails, bungee cords, Starbucks gift cards my students gave me that we've been using along the way, patch kits, hand sanitizer, credit cards, our GPS, Pat's awesome map-reading skills, donators, learning to drink water without stopping (it wasn't pretty, but I did it), my brother-in-law who has kept me up-to-date on the Olympics, my iPhone (aka my life line), my battery charger that charged everything, and Facebook are VERY good! (These are just random things that have been good on our ride, but I haven't mentioned and are definitely worth mentioning)!

Day 31 Ventura to Laguna beach 49 miles(1,573 miles total)

Canada to Mexico, Day 31: 

We rode 49 miles to Malibu, then drove about 50 miles through LA, and then rode another 15 miles to Laguna Beach (1,573 miles total). Did you notice that I mentioned both riding and driving today? Well, grab a glass of wine or beer, sit back and relax, and let me tell you the story behind that. 20 years ago, Pat did this Canada to Mexico bike ride. When he did it, he doesn't remember all the treacherous hills, the weather was way better for him, he had tailwinds the whole way, and he had four flats total. He says that it has been a hundred times harder this time around. Gee, ya think? He seems to have forgotten all the bad stuff about the ride, but one thing he very clearly remembers is how horrible it was to bike through LA. It was crazy, there were no bike lanes, there were lots of sketchy characters, he had to ride through the hood, and the traffic was horrendous. Not a lot phases him, but biking through there definitely did! So when we were planning this bike trip, we pretty much planned all along to drive through the LA part. It was just too dangerous to take the risk. Please don't think less of us or that we are cheating, but we had to think of our safety. So here is how it all worked out: My sister Tammy flew in, rented a truck, picked us up in north LA and dropped us off in south LA. I can't even tell you how excited I was to see her and my niece Kylee! After she dropped us off, we biked 15 more miles and she drove to Palm Springs to stay at my parents for two days. She will pick us up at the Mexican border in two days and then we fly out on the 2nd to Costa Rica to meet my sister Torri and her family. So we have about 95 more miles and two more days of riding. I really can't believe that I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Please continue to think positive thoughts as we near the finish line! Summary of the day: biking through LA is horrible; driving through LA and seeing my sister and niece is wonderful! Thank you Tammy for doing all the legwork on the rental truck and everything else! Love you- you are the best!

Day 30 Refugio State Beach to Ventura 52 miles(1,469 total)

Canada to Mexico, Day 30: 

We rode 52 miles to Ventura (1,469 miles total). The bad news is that I am really missing some things from home. I miss my own bed, my morning cup of coffee, driving, my favorite TV shows (The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Say Yes to the Dress), and lots of other things. But most of all, I really miss my friends and family! The good news is that I know I will see them again soon and I can't wait for that! Summary of the day: flat tires (Pat and Riley) and missing my friends and family are bad; riding alongside the ocean, the smell of the ocean, the sun, beautiful scenery, and knowing that I will see my friends and family soon are good!

Day 29 Pismo Beach to Refugio State Park 76 miles(1,417 miles total)

Canada to Mexico, Day 29: 

We rode 76 miles to Refugio State Park (about 20 miles north of Santa Barbara),(1,417 miles total). The bad news is that we were on the bikes for 10 hours. The good news I that I don't even bat an eye at that anymore. 8 to 10 hours on a bike every day is how we roll! Is this normal? I don't know what normal is anymore. :) Summary of the day: the fact that California is such a long state, warm drinking water in the hot sun, no wonder cup (my family knows what I'm talking about), broken spokes, and no wine are bad; bike shops, no flat tires, the sun, biking past cilantro fields, being a big hit everywhere I go because of my Ben and Jerry's ice cream shirt, camping on the beach in southern California, and mini-stores at campgrounds (with beer, but no wine. Wine coolers though, which I did get. This is how desperate I've become), are good! Tailwinds are very good (as you can see by the mileage we were able to put in today)! On a side note- I'd like to wish all the bike riders who are doing the Double Day bike ride in Skagit Valley this weekend a sunshine, tailwind-filled weekend! This is a ride for ALS that we have done in the past. My co-worker and friend, Patty Kindsvater, and her husband are doing it this year. Happy pedaling!

Day 28 Morrow Bay to Pismo Beach 30 miles(1,341 miles total)

Canada to Mexico, Day 28: We rode 30 miles to Pismo Beach (1,341 miles total). The bad news is that because of the geography of where we were and the availability of campsites or hotels, our only choices were to either go 30 miles or 90 miles. We've been on the bikes enough to know that we could never do 90 miles, so 30 miles it was. The good news is that we were able to finish riding at a decent time today (2:00) and not feel dead tired. A little guilty, but not dead tired. We were able to go to the beach and have a nice crab dinner, which was delicious! We'll be all rested up for a long, hard ride tomorrow! Summary of the day: missing a lot of the Olympic coverage is bad; warm sand between our toes, Alaskan King Crab, wine, and feeling a bit like an Olympian myself (with all the people cheering us on) is good!

Day 27 120 miles(1,131 miles total)

Canada to Mexico,  Day 27: 

Yesterday, we didn't have service at our campsite and I was unable to post, so I am combining yesterday and today's ride on this update. Yesterday we rode 54 miles to Lucia. Today, we rode 66 miles to Morrow Bay (1,131 miles total). The last couple of days have been really pleasant and enjoyable! It's been sunny and the views have been incredible! We even survived the infamous Big Sur hills! The bad news is that I wasn't able to be with my dad on his birthday yesterday :(. The good news is that doing this bike ride for ALS and documenting our journey is the best gift I believe I can give him. Summary of the days: missing my dad's birthday is bad; fundraising for ALS research and a cure is priceless! If you, too, want to give a gift to our family and our quest to find a cure for ALS, then click on our ride site and donate from there. As always, thanks so much for your support!

Riley age 5

 Riley at the same beach age 15