Well, the journey has finally come to an end for my team and I am not just talking about the 545mile bike ride. We drove almost 3,000 miles across the country (50 hours) to get from the east coast to the west coast and now we have just completed the 3,000 mile trek home. I can’t say how great it feels to sleep in my bed after 3 days straight in a Scion xB with 5 people! But the best part for my team about driving home was reflecting on the experience of the ride and realizing that we have all become best friends for life.

The last couple days of the ride were intense, ESPECIALLY red dress day. Wearing red symbolizes the color of the AIDS Ribbon and to honor it everyone wears red on the Thursday of the ride. There were some really “colorful” riders on that day. Lots of make-up, balloon boobs, and tutus. To be honest I was scared… and not just for my life, haha, but for those wearing the long dresses because I thought they might get caught in the chain of the bike. But everyone made it to the camp safe and sound. I personally wore a red biking shirt. Dresses aren’t really my thing, but I guess I could have inserted some balloon boobs to fit in with the crowd, lol.

Friday night was an amazing night too. It was the night of the Candlelight Vigil. All 3,000 riders/roadies each had a candle and we walked out onto the beach. The Candlelight Vigil was a moment for everyone to remember friends whom they have lost and to honor them. I personally have not lost any friends to AIDS/HIV; however I did lose my best friend to the war in Iraq. I chose to honor and remember him and I am pretty sure he heard me because everyone went to the shoreline to put out there candles and when I went to put out mine I was caught by surprise by a huge wave and my feet wear SOAKED! Sounds like my best friend Bobby to me!
But the most amazing part of the whole journey was riding into closing ceremonies on the last day. All the people cheering and holding up signs made every mile worth it. To see the impact you are making on a community is very rewarding. However, it was tough to say goodbye to all the new friends I had made during the ride. It is funny how out of 3,000 people you seem to find yourself running into the same 15-20 people every day. My team and I were usually in the last group to leave camp each day. Probably because mentally we are 3 hours ahead with the east coast time zone.. or because we wanted to sleep more.. .. I am going to go with the time zone reason because it sounds better! But to be honest, I liked being in the tail end of the ride and taking my time at each rest stop. I didn’t travel across the country to ride a bike as fast as I could, I did it to meet new people and really get a sense of why I am doing the ride and why I should continue to do it.

I was honored to be a part of such an amazing experience and my team and I are already preparing for next year. We are going to build a bigger team and plan to raise more money for the organization by sharing our experience with others. I have many hours of video footage from the ride and I hope you all join me on my vLogging channel on YouTube to check it out.

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