Day 30. Los Angeles

After such a lovely cycle from Santa Barbara to Malibu, there was little that could dampen my spirits. A mere 20 miles or so from LAX with the finish line in sight. I thought I would give the bike a quick once over, lube the chain and squeeky cogs, and put her to bed for the night.



Why is the back wheel wobbly?.. When did that happen?! Why is that spoke loose?.. I couldn't believe, after 29 days of cycling, it was on the penultimate day that something had finally snapped. It has to be said that the bike has performed quite spectacularly. A few punctures, a couple of tweeks here and there, but the Rocky Mountain Sherpa really did carry me all the way from Vancouver, Canada, to Los Angeles, USA.

A slight panic that it was all going to go wrong on the last day, but that only lasted as long as it took me to realise I had spare spokes. And as it was only one it wasn't the end of the world. The one thing I didn't have was the tools to fix it! (Note to self, don't forget the spoke key next time). The nearest bike repair shop was 10 miles away.. which isn't too bad. 10 miles is nothing these days. So after a bit of reorganising, and putting all the weight on the front wheel, rather than the back, I slowly meandered down the coast towards the bike shop, and my ultimate goal.

It was a pretty foggy ride this morning, which was only disappointing on the photo front. As I passed through the last of Malibu's 27 miles of beaches, as the sign so kindly informed me, I was a little annoyed not to get a good shot of pristine sand and sea behind it. I think it 's the most surfers I've seen on the trip though, although not in the water, just getting their gear on before heading out to sea. I digress.. I got to the bike shop with little hassle, and 45 minutes later was heading off again.

Once again I had been a little lacking on the directions and planning last night. As LAX is right by the coast I thought I couldn't miss it. I followed the bike route, the pacific coast signs that I have now looked at for 5 weeks and over 1600 miles, for the last 10 miles.

The last leg was taken at a leisurely pace. I hardly boke sweat. I didn't need to. I could hear planes taking off and landing and knew it was almost finished. Getting into LAX wasn't quite as easy as I thought it would be, but as I strolled past the security checks for the cars  the police barely batted an eyelid. I was finished. High as a kite on completing something at times I never thought I could.

I have stopped in Ferndale, Oak Harbour, Poulsbo, Shelton, Raymond, Astoria, Garibaldi, Lincoln City, Yachats, Florence, Bandon, Gold Beach, Crescent City, Klamath, Eureka, Garberville, Westport, Fort Bragg, Gualala, Point Reyes Station, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Big Sur, Cambria, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, Malibu and Los Angeles.

Who would have thought it? When I was planning this trip I had no idea how difficult it would be. I had no idea how lonely it would feel, cycling in the middle of nowhere, often in the rain, and nearly everyday to somewhere I would never even consider visiting. I had no idea how exhausted I could feel one day, to feeling on top of the world (quite literally at times) the next.

Now for the poetic part, and one that those of you yet to sponsor me should take note of.

I did this ride to raise funds for cancer research. I wanted to raise funds for cancer research because in 1994 my father was taken from us by prostate cancer. Cancer is a disease that effects, in one way or another, almost everybody on the planet. There really is no getting away from it.

My dad's bithday was 10th December, 1936. Is it a coincidence that I finished what was probably the hardest, most draining thing I have ever contemplated, on the 10th of December 2010? On what would have been his 74th birthday. Who knows. It certainly wasn't planned. When I was planning the trip I thought I could complete the ride in 4 weeks and maybe a couple of days. When it became apparent it was going to take longer it irked me, until I realised the significance of it. Maybe that is why I pushed harder over the last week. I wanted to get it done. I could have finished yesterday, I certainly had another 20 miles in me. But I didn't. It had to be finished today. 

So that was for you dad.

And for everybody else that has lost someone to this terrible disease.

Now put your hands in your pocket, and give some money, because a little can go such a long way.