Day One (4/20/22): This is really happening.
Start: Torrey Pines State Preserve, La Jolla, CA
End: Lakeside, CA
Miles: 33.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,122 feet
The trek has begun! Finally! My dear friend Bart asked me this morning whether I was nervous or excited. Truth be told, I was relieved that all of the planning—especially over the past 6 weeks—was over, and all I had to do now was ride. It was pretty exciting though.
This was the most and least normal day of the journey.
The most normal because much of today’s riding was on roads where I’ve pedaled thousands of miles over the years. There wasn’t much new to see, although from the pictures in the gallery you can see that’s not to say it was not a beautiful ride. It was. An absolutely perfect day for a ride in a gorgeous setting.
The least normal for much the same reason. Specifically, this is the one day on the trip that won’t be all new territory. On top of that, I’m writing this from my family room, as Tish shuttled me home from Lakeside at the end of the ride. It’s only 20 minutes or so from home. We’ll do the same thing tomorrow. It was also a fairly short ride with no stops, so I didn’t really have a chance to talk to anyone.
I was quite happy to see Deanna Kasper from JDRF at the beach to see me off. Deanna has provided tremendous support since we connected a few months ago. On top of some very cool JDRF swag, she’s also connected me with JDRF riders in New Mexico, Kentucky, Virginia, and New Jersey who I hope to ride with along the way. Thanks!
Today’s highlights:
I’m riding my bike across the country!!!
It was really a tremendous day for cycling.
Dipping my wheels in the Pacific knowing I’ll be doing the same thing in the Atlantic in a few months.
Collecting some water for the “left side” ocean and looking forward to mixing is with some “right side” ocean water. (No. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my jar of mixed seawater.)
Playing the national anthem on the beach. Whitney Houston 1991 Super Bowl version…find me a better version.
My pick up at the less glamorous Plane Fitness in Lakeside by my beautiful wife.
It’s Bailey’s 24th birthday!
Daily Feature: What am I grateful for today?
A friend from work suggested I consider 3 things I’m grateful for each day while I’m on the journey. She had read somewhere that if you do this for 3 weeks, there’s a good chance your perspective on life will change for the better. I think I already have a pretty good perspective on life, but one of the rules I live by is if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. There are some clear choices here that I’ll highlight over time, but I’ll also look for some less obvious ones based on what I encounter along the way. Here goes.
Springtime in Southern California. There were so many wildflowers in bloom along the way today. All sorts of colors, but my favorite are the scents. Coastal sage is in full bloom and is simply one of the best fragrances I can imagine.
Bike lanes and bike paths. This is probably the biggest “no duh” item, but I’m very appreciative of how cyclist-friendly my adult hometown is. About half of my ride today was on separated bike paths and nearly all the rest was on extra wide bike paths.
You. The support we’ve received has been tremendous. I’m so appreciative of all of the kind words and encouragement you’ve passed along. I’m also blown away by your generosity. I never thought we could raise this much money for JDRF. Deanna called it “phenomenal” this morning. No surprise since we have friends and family.
Enjoy the ride…