Mill Valley, CA to San Francisco, CA / 12.71 mi / 574 ft

The last morning was bittersweet. Since about day 50 I was homesick; some days weren’t too bad, others were worse. But this was when I really wanted to just get to San Francisco. There are some days that I will always remember and other days that I never want to remember. Last night was when I truly realized how much I will miss the 4K. Yesterday and today was a day full of lasts. The last time we ate dinner together and had a pow wow. The last time we would say goodnight. The last time we woke up with 28 other people surrounding us. The last time we packed up our duffle bags, were given the countdown of Bags Out and ate breakfast together. The last time we gathered in our circle for dedication and the cheer.

For 70 days I was surrounded by 28 people. Some days I loved it, other days I wanted time alone. Either way they made me stronger. They helped me climb mountains, ride through the 100 degree heat, picked me back up after I fell, distracted me during the most deserted scenery and helped me finish everyday that I rode.

As a small group of people, we made a small difference in this world and for the cancer community. The people we met along the way, at hope lodges, cancer centers, and on the road from one city to the next, had so many stories about how they were affected by cancer. I didn’t have a strong connection to the cancer community before this trip but through this ride, each town we passed I saw how much cancer can affect a person, a family, a community, an entire town.

We headed out in groups. Today was only supposed to be 11 miles but the shortest day of this trip didn’t mean anything. It wouldn’t be a 4K ride without hills, reroutes, confusion of the chalk and getting lost. Eventually we saw the bridge! It was the landmark I had been looking forward to since I left Baltimore. I couldn’t believe we finally got to San Francisco on our bikes. We stopped to take pictures and then continued on to cross the bridge but of course we had our “ceremonial hill”. Just because we weren’t going to host doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have a hill at the end of our ride. At the top we took a group picture at the lookout point with the Golden Gate Bridge. We crossed the bridge and rode to the beach. After 70 days and 4,000 miles we made it to San Francisco! It was an incredible, once in lifetime experience and journey that I don’t regret.