Moving Time 4:27:20
Elevation 1,903ft
Avg Speed 13.7mi/h
Max Speed 43.1mi/h
Calories 1,686
Temperature 77
Wakeup Time: 4:30 a.m. / Ride-out Time: 7:00 a.m. / Elapsed Time 7:21:00
Looking at this trio, we look as if we've been crying all night long. We don't want the week to end. Sniff, sniff. David and I brought our gear to the trucks and on our way to drop off our tents, we run into the lovable, cuddle-able, sweet Pardeep.
An absolutely adorable picture is of Tony and Blain stretching and then posing for what? A camera? Where?
When Johannes and I got to our bikes, we noticed that the Chicken Lady (a.k.a Ken) left her love on every Rider's seat. She did have help from, what would you call Chicken Lady Elves? Chickadees sounds perfect.
She sprinkles so much wonderfulness throughout the ride. Each egg had a treat and words of wisdom.
As we were pulling away from bike parking, Johannes noticed that not one, but two -- the front and back tires were F - L - A - T! Johannes first response was, "Does someone not like me? Who would do such a thing?" I met him at bike tech and he discovered that he had ridden over thorns, which found their way into both tires. We were finally ready to ride off to mile 21.6 RS1 Caltrans pullout near Point Mugu off the Pacific Coast Highway.
At some point, Johannes cycled ahead not knowing that I had stopped to help a Rider change a tire.
At 2600 South Victoria, I gave a mental greeting to the DeVeras. Anytime I hear of Oxnard, I think of Vera DeVera and her family. At 17.6 miles I made a stop at the Point Mugu Missle Park to take a least one picture of the fascinating airplanes.
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| At Mile 17.6 courtesy of Google Maps |
When I arrived at RS1 Lisa McCarty was jumping up and down for joy. She was leaving as I was arriving. And, almost instantly, the ever-so-efficient Cyclist Rep Scott was on his bullhorn announcing that the rest stop would be closing in 10 minutes. That gave me enough time to replenish my water bottles, bump into Johannes who was on his way out, visit the PP to pp, have an orange slice and a banana and rush to my bike just in time to hear another announcement that the route was closed due to an accident. So we waited in line and the Roadies, #RoadiesRock, came by with snacks for us as we stood waiting for the go ahead. And, look who happened to be in front of me, the Texan stud from Day 4 Halfway to L.A.
I caught up with Johannes and we decided to skip mile 31 RS2 Leo Carrillo State Beach since we were behind. Team Edna planned to meet at 1:30 p.m. for those who wanted to ride into the VA Center en masse. We were able to quickly grab lunch at mile 45.3 at Malibu Bluffs Park and let Team Edna folks know that RS1 cyclists had been held up for at least 30 minutes because of the accident so the meet time had to be pushed out a bit. Of course just a few pictures had to be snapped. One with Mentor Mary and a guy, I'll call Bob who happens to train with the East Bay Wildcats. Glad I met him. I will be on the lookout for Bob (to find out his actual name) on future Saturday Orinda training rides.
From this point until making our way onto San Vicente Boulevard, we cycled on the Pacific Coast Highway with parked cars, fast cars on the road, and our eyes watching like hawks for any car doors opening, surfboards swinging, cars darting out of parking spaces onto the highway, and just about anything else that could pop out or in front of us.
RIDE SAFE. BE SAFE.
Our planned meeting time at 1:30 p.m. at a designated spot was not on the route. Because of the RS1 holdup, a few of us, including Richard (and Patricia and Lance Gordon, who said they would not be able to meet us at 1:30, but got to - YAY!) waited at the corner of Montana and S Gretna Green Way. We received a text from Thomas, but the text wasn't clear. I thought he and others were waiting for us at the finish line. So at 2:30 p.m. the 12 to 15 of us went ahead and a few blocks later, all of a sudden we hear cheer. What an utter emotional delight, the rest of Team Edna was waiting for Captain Richard.
Team EDNA was first created to honor 13-time Rider and Roadie, Edna Flores Lagunte.
Three days before Day 1, our teammate Deyon Jonson's mother passed away. While we cycled, roadied, virtual cycled, supported on the route, cheered from home, we not only experienced our individual journeys but also helped our Captain Richard Lagunte and team member Deyon Jonson through an emotional, supportive, loving week of healing.
We cycled 61.7 miles cycled today, a total of 545 miles over 7 days into the VA Center in Los Angeles. The team was cycling behind Captain Richard.
When Richard finally crossed the finish line with 40 riders behind him, a few of us broke down and cried.
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| Proud of you Deyon |
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| See you in San Francisco, TeaDough |
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| Bye, Buck |
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| We're going home via LAX |
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