Nearing the Finish Line

The weather front that caused the sand storm 

Kelly’s friends provide food and drink in Seal Beach

My favorite car in the cruise 

Lina, Angie, Dean and myself at the Santa Monica Pier

The Queen Mary

Yesterday we had an 80 mile day through Santa Monica and a number of LA County Beaches. The ride was generally flat and much of the ride was along the beaches. Although it was an 80 mile day it seemed to fly by. I rode with a number of different people and I enjoyed everyone’s impressions of Southern California. Most of us agreed we’d rather live in Southern California than Northern California in a 15 million dollar mansion by the Pacific. As we rode into Huntington Beach we saw a very strange cloud formation. As we neared, the wind picked up and soon we found ourselves riding through a crazy sand storm. People were running from the beach, babies were crying and we were screaming. We weren’t really screaming but the sand was stinging and a few people said, “ouch.” We made our way through the Sahara sand storm and arrived safely at our destination. This night we were staying with a former MS rider named Ed and his neighbors Chris and Paul. They all had beautiful homes in Huntington Beach and I was surprised that they would open their homes to such a ragtag bunch such as us. They provided a great arrival spread and ample amounts of beer. After we were showered they drove us to town where I had a delicious Italian dinner and watched an antique car cruise. After an adequate night’s sleep we headed to Ed’s church where we were provided with a healthy breakfast. Paul, who is a very good cyclist lead us to our first rest stop where after a light snack we parted ways. Our 65 mile day should have been a breeze but we had a few detours because the trail through Pendleton Military Base was closed due to security reasons. We had to take Interstate 5. We only rode the 5 for a few miles but it was very noisy with semi-trucks, fast cars and military helicopters whizzing by. Although the shoulder of the road was wide and free of debris, I was relived to exit and resume riding a less dangerous road. We arrived safely at the South Carlsbad State Beach Campground where I met Cindy. I’m sad to say that I did not camp but stayed at a luxury resort in Carlsbad.