2024 April 22
Miles: 52.6
Climb:
Total Miles: 521.5
People I love bookended this day: Christine in the morning and my cousins Carla and Allen in the evening.
In between was a wend down the Pacific Coast Highway, followed by a scenic tour of LA. On the PCH, I cruised alongside a flock of pelicans for a half mile and spotted a pod of dolphins while eating gummy candies. In other words, I was living my best life.
The stop and go of LA traffic was made merry by the kindness of the Angelenos I encountered. Motorists gave me the right of way when they didn't have to (bless them each and every one.). A driver actually apologized to me when he blocked a crosswalk. And as I climbed up to Pasadena, a young guy waiting for a bus started cheering me on, "Keep it up! You got this! Way to go!" giving me actual life. The stereotypes may be true, after all: SoCal is friendlier than NoCal.
The good vibes continued in Pasadena, where I dined with my super generous, extra cool, and always hilarious SoCal cousins, Carla and Allen, who schlepped all the way up from Orange to meet me. Allen even made a video of me giving a tour of my bike's components and luggage, which is every cyclist's secret dream. And as usual, Carla (who is an actual comedian) made me snort with her stories.
I am now in uncharted territory. I had previously ridden about 70% of the route from SF to LA during my two AIDS/LifeCycle forays. Now shit is getting real, or, at least, new.
Awesome seeing you!
What a perfect day!