Day 23, October 1, 2007

Venice Beach, CA to Newport Beach, CA
50.8 miles, 13.2 mph, 3h 48m 36s (max speed 27.5 mph)

Up at 6:15, 7:00 continental breakfast at hotel. 2 bowls Raisin Bran, 2 danish, yogurt and orange juice.

Today was another beautiful day, sunny and not too hot.

We were on the road only for 3 miles and got on a bike path for 7 miles. Again the bike path was located in the beach. We cycled on Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. The wind wasn't very strong but there were plenty of surfers out there just waiting for that "big wave". There were several big oil rigs located off shore. There were hardly any people out today (Monday). No walkers, roller bladers or other cyclists. We passed many gorgeous waterfront condos and single family homes along the way.

We had a 5 mile, 400 foot climb up a hill at 34 miles into and through a residential neighborhood. (see elevation map) We also had to ride through an industrial area that required us to make many stops.

Then we were back on another bike path for 8 miles. We cycled on Sunset beach, Bolsa Chica Beach, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. It was very different to ride so many miles on beaches.

I didn't stop to take many photos today. It was our last day of the ride and I was just soaking up the environment and enjoying it. Even I became a bit desensitized by the continuous diverse surroundings and seeing things I don't see at home in southeastern CT and my home town of Ledyard.

We arrived at Ramada Inn and Suites at 12:15. Tom packed up his bike and called UPS to pick it up. They were here in 5 minutes! They really were! I cleaned my bike up, filled out a shipping label and a local bike shop came to pick up 10 of our bikes at 4 PM. They will be packing them up in our cases and shipping them UPS to us back home.

Tom, Ann and I went to Outback for a nice dinner. Then I came back to our room to repack my suitcase and my carry on bag. I'm flying home to CT tomorrow and Tom is spending tomorrow with a brother playing golf and flying home to Colorado on Wednesday. We are roommates tonight.

This has been a very difficult ride for me, the hardest I've ever done. I trained properly, but the constant hills day after day really wore me down. I'm very anxious to get home.

Donna told me today that our Ride for Alzheimer's effort has received $16, 500. Our goal is $17,000, so we aren't very far away from reaching it. I want to say thank you to so many people who have made donations this year and have supported this effort over the years. I have ridden over 11,000 miles across the country over the last 9 consecutive years, and raised over $125,000. If you had intended to make a donation this year and didn't do it yet, it's not too late. I and the association are happy to receive large or small donations. All of the money goes to support the Alzheimer's Association and their educational programs, awareness and contributions to research. Alzheimer's is an insidious disease that robs a person of their ability to do all the things in life that we so often take for granted. It takes a huge toll on caregivers and their families.

I am "thinking" of organizing a small regional ride in southeastern CT next year to replace my annual RFA effort. I will need volunteers to help make it a reality. Please contact me if you are interested in helping. This isn't a definite thing yet. I'm just reaching out to see if there are people who would be willing to work with me on a "brainstorm committee".

I'll write one more short journal tomorrow, my fly home day. Right now it looks like I'll be flying out at 12 noon and arriving at Green Airport in Providence at 10 PM.

Breakfast at hotel

Bike path on Manhattan Beach

Naples Marina

Tom and me at SAG

Tom riding on bike path

Oil rig off shore

Huntington Beach

Condos on the beach front

Huntington Beach Pier

Welcome!

THE RIDE IS OVER

Tom's chocolate chocolate tower at "Outback"

Today's route sheet

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