March 25, 2024
Day 57 - Good Morning
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARISSA!!!! Love you little girl. Maybe you’ll be able to read this in a few years. I can’t wait to see you soon. Today I had a good morning. And I listened to this song as one of the first songs when I started and it brought so much nostalgia. I woke up around 6. Didn’t get great sleep. Similar to Deji’s but I was able to close my eyes so it was restful. Still 6 hours. I realized I could charge my phone at the bathroom so I did. Packed up everything and headed over there. From 6:11-6:43 I packed up. What??? That has to be a record. I guess that’s what happens when you’re trying to make sure your phone doesn’t get stolen. Had some breakfast by the bathroom and got to say happy birthday to my 3 year old sister. And said bye to my family for awhile. Not sure how often I’ll get cell. As I sat in the bathroom charging my phone I knew I was procrastinating. The wind would be brutal today. But my campsite wasn’t getting any closer so I left. At 7:20. Said bye to Karina and took off. Pretty chill morning. Not much happened. Just more of the most beautiful part of the US. Around 25 I stopped and finished off the lemon bread I got from church yesterday. So good. I don’t remember much but at 45 I think I stopped again. Oh I also laid down on highway one cause of construction. That felt nice. Prolly looked stupid. At 45 I just had some water. But was absolutely cooked. I worked hard this morning. Did 3200’ of climbing in the first 36 miles. Little did I know that was the easiest part. Wind sucked. Chainsuck again. Gonna have to figure something out with that. Hills were fun. Wind was not. I just want it to let go of me. I don’t think I stopped again until 90?? That doesn’t sound right. I know I cooked it. And cooked me. It was fun to really push it. I just can’t wait to see what I can do without my packs and without this wind. Dreaming of good rides back home. I pushed it so hard. Some big climbs but mostly just rolling. I kept checking my ascent on my watch to make sure I was reading it right. Stopped at 90 cause I don’t think I’d be able to go another 5 miles if not. Talked to a lady for a few minutes. Finished off the PB and fruit snacks from church. So good. Finally I made my way. It hurt. Legs hurt. Today was so hard but so much fun. Heart rate average over 9.5 hours was 132. Oof. Often on the climbs I would be 160+. I made it. The site is very secluded. I can’t decide if I like it. Cool rainforest type place. I got things ready and tried a run. Half a mile in I quit. I started up a hill and my legs had nothing left. So I walked back. Took my cold soaked chicken pesto pasta to the beach and enjoyed a sunset. It was so good. Sunset was so good. Wrote this journal. I doubt it’s that good. Saw lots of families at the beach. I miss mine. What’s new. Just means coming home should be great.
A few extra notes on my thoughts today. I really didn’t want to ride today. Yesterday and when I was up for a few hours this morning I got very stressed really quick knowing I have to leave again. I can’t wait to not move anywhere. I saw today as a necessary evil to get home. It was long. That wind was brutal. Almost 7500’ of climbing. It hurt. But I prayed so much yesterday and today and I know lots of people did as well that I would have the strength/energy/motivation/mindset to get through it. Almost every other time I’ve had headwind for more than 10 miles I breakdown. I cry. Often times stopping just so I can breathe. Today I was at peace. That doesn’t mean it was easy. I still hated the wind today. But God gave me the mindset I needed to get through today. Looking back at it I don’t think I could do it again due to the hills. Not even factoring in the wind. I pray I realize when I look back at this journal in 5 years from now that I remember everything I learned from this trip. And still learning. But for now it’s time for me to walk back to my campsite and go to bed hopefully by 8:15. There’s slugs tho 🤢. My posts will probably be very inconsistent going forward simply due to lack of cell service. Pictures won’t come for awhile. Hopefully you guys don’t have withdrawal when you can’t read my post when you typically do.
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Today's ride: 94 miles (151 km)
Total: 4,111 miles (6,616 km)
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My daughter teaches at UC Santa Cruz, and their mascot is the banana slug!!
https://www.ucsc.edu/campus/mascot/
7 months ago