October 20, 2022
Day 41 - San Diego to Mexican Border and Back
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The last day of riding. Forty miles of as pancake-flat as it gets. And I was ready for it. And yet not. I wasn't sure how I felt as we set out all together in a group, riding to the marina to catch a ferry to Coronado and then follow the bike path along the Strand to the border: excited, sad, happy, exhausted, wired, and ready to go home, all at once.
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Once we reached Coronado, we branched out again, all traveling at our own pace as usual. The path along the strand is long and straight and, I thought, mostly uninteresting, though there are some wildlife and bird sanctuary areas that probably merit some investigation. But I had a bit of a headwind and a great deal of motivation to get to the border, so I pushed on.
At Imperial Beach, the path ends and you have to jog through town and side streets along the Tijuana River Valley to get to the border. The streets are wide and traffic was sparse. Along the way there were a lot of horse ranches and a couple of times I stopped to let a line of riders cross the road.
Finally, I entered the border park and followed a long stretch of narrow road surrounded by sagebrush and weeds, which turned into a gravel and dirt road as it headed toward the beach.
I was the first one there, and I wasn't sure exactly where we were supposed to meet. My Garmin led me directly to the beach, so I found a log and sat on it, enjoying the beach and contemplating the 30-foot metal wall between my Mexican neighbors and me.
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After I sat on the beach a while, reflecting on the last 41 days and what I had accomplished (more on that later), I began to look around. The rest of the group must have arrived, I thought. And sure enough, I looked up and saw a group of them at the top of the hill. So I grabbed my biked and found my way up to Friendship Park.
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We rode back the way we came, only with a tail wind to carry us along. At this point, I was anxious to get back as quickly as possible and see Rich, who had driven all the way from Napa and was waiting for me at the Hostel. We planned to spend the night in San Diego (at a real hotel, I might add), and then drive home the next day.
The tour was over, but my reflections on it continue. I plan to add one last post to this blog, my thoughts about this epic journey and where I might go in the future. So, stay tuned. And thank you for riding this far with me.
Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 1,755 miles (2,824 km)
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1 year ago
1 year ago