With searing sunshine overhead and mile after endless mile of sandy boardwalk to traverse, we set out towards San Clemente and then the border. Cruising the beaches, we kept our eyes out for ideal surf spots, but before we could get comfortable we headed inland briefly to check out some of L.A.'s most picturesque regions such as Crenshaw Boulevard and the untouched landscape that is the Los Angeles River. Balanced atop the L.A. aquaduct, we followed the river as it went from a soft stream to a trickle before dropping down into Long Beach. Not knowing whether it could be done or not, John took the liberty of inadvertantly checking the impact resistance of a luxury car. Note to all: People in L.A. like to park AND sit in their cars. After unexpectedly dragging his paneers across a brand new Lexus, he keep his compose and peddled faster, just as the touring manual had suggested, as obviously there were no injuries. Moving onto the longest beach they'd ever seen, Long beach provided an exciting and enjoyable stretch for the guys, before meeting up with Jason, a fellow co-worker in Seal Beach.
Inspired by the talk of another incredible burrito/taco shop, Gregs' tire decided it was a fine time to blow 3 times as we approached Chronic Taco. After consuming some incredible, calorie-laden burritos, we continued our consumption with a dozen donuts before meeting, undeniably, the most insane as well as boastful bicycle shop owner any of us had ever met. After allowing this moron to berate "road bikers", while he claimed we didn't fall into that category, we continued on in utter astonishment.
With the miles compounding and the sun just about to fall below the horizon, we reached San Clemente. To no ones surprise, she lived atop a high bluff and, settling into a final climb, we had an incredible view of a setting sun off in the horizon, before meeting up with another co-worker, Elsa. As promised, she had cold beers waiting for us and it wasn't long before we headed out and ate (surprise, surprise) a ridiculous amount of mexican food and wandered back home armed with pints of ice cream and cases of beer. A entertaining game of telephone pictionary and nintendo showdowns ensued before calling it a night before our final ride.
The next morning we all awoke early, the reality of hoping to cover 90 + miles to reach the border before sunset. Saying our goodbyes, our group of 5 jettisoned from San Clemente and into the rising sun. With bicycle paths to guide us along, we loaded up on miles, watching aerial exercises and armored vehicles motor past us as we gained access and passed through Camp Pendleton. Never knowing if those Cobra attack helicopters overhead were zeroing in on us, we decided to get beyond the camps fences before stopping and grabbing a bite in Oceanside at what John would consider the best cafe he'd eaten at the entire trip, if not ever (bold statement). Loaded up on huevos, homefries, and hot sauce, we continued our journey into San Diego, enjoying the sunshine and the growing number of hills we had come to miss the past few days. Reaching La Jolla, we took a moment to catch our breath and see if we could intercept our friend Erin, who, ironically lived in La Jolla and was flying in from Europe that day before seeing family and then jet-setting down to Costa Rica 2 days later. To no ones amazement, she was not in California, but in an NY airport, so accepting her delay and words of encouragement we continued on. Realizing that our possy had racked up 60 some miles for the day without recharging on some sort of spicy/calorie-laden/deep-fried/ or otherwise bad-for-you-food, we headed to the mediterannean for some greek gyros and ice cream to fuel up for the fnal third of our day. Considering all the education between the five of us, none of us realized that the ferry we had to take across the San Diego harbor may, in fact, only run during certain hours of the day, which we could miss seeing it was already 4 o' clock and the sun sets around 5. Racing through the city to the ferry landing, we were happy to find out that we could catch the 5 o' clock ferry, which also ment we had about 45 minutes to have some happy-hour suds. With the bikes loaded on the ferry, we made our crossing as the sun set and we realized there were still 17 miles through the darkness to the border.
Firing up all of our lights, we set off into the darkness towards the border. As we slipped further and further away from the city, the landscape became increasingly desolate, illuminated only by impeding horizon which was the Mexican border. We passed the last homesteads and businesses while dodging dark sillouettes along the bike path before coming along the last outpost, a plaza with a liquor store. Here we grabbed some Tequila and headed off into the darkness. It has gone without mention, but our final destination was not the border crossing, but the aptly named Border Field State Park, which would allow us to reach the fence just before it trailed off out into the ocean. With the anxiety of realizing we were probably not suppose to be entering the park after nightfall, compounded with the recent dangers in and around Tijuana, and the fact that breaking rules in and around this area could result in violating federal laws, we decided to continue not after seeing anything prohibiting entiring the park at night via bicycle. Pedalling down a bumpy road flanked by thick bushes, an eerie hush came over the group, anticipating some sort of activity to explode out of the darkness. Rounding a turn, the unexpected glow of contruction lights illuminated what will be the new fence that is being put up. Following the road, a distant lighthouse that we presumed would be our destination came into clear view atop a hill along with the fence. Climbing out the the surprisingly cold valley to the warm hilltop, there we were at the end. A lone marble column situated within the fence stood as the culminating point of our trip which we had begun 33 days earlier. It did not spark a momentous celebration, only a few quite moments when we all realized that we had literally reached the end of the road. Wasting no time, each of us poised the bikes and ourselves for some photos, as a mexican band played in the distance. With tequila shots taken, we relished in the moment, not believing that it was all over, yet thankful that we had all arrived undamaged and intact. As we mounted our bikes to head off and meet Connor's parents to shuttle us back to Hermosa Beach, the border patrol made their entrance with the lights of two jeeps breaking through the night as they crested the hill we were on. Expecting the worst, we were very happy to realize that they were inquisative about our adventure and congratulated us on our accomplishment. We headed off on the bikes one final time before putting down the paneers and calling the trip complete.
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