The Final Adventure.

I thought when I left Twin Lakes Beach that cold bittersweet night that I would be putting my bike up for a while. I especially didn’t think I would have another Bike & Build adventure. However, I’m so very happy I was wrong. 

I spent the week trying to figure out what was going on in my life. I knew who I was and what I would be doing at any given moment (for the most part any way) while I was riding across the country. Suddenly though, everything changed. I was in a hotel room with my mom. No more 29 people surrounding me. No more biking everyday. No more thermarests. No more sleeping bag. No more cooler food. No more early wake ups to a new song every day. My world had been turned upside down.

When I finished my swimming career I thought my life had completely changed. I had been a competitive swimmer year round since I was 8 years old. My life had in fact changed then, but this was so different from that. The 81 days I spent with Bike & Build will define who I am for the rest of my life. Swimming taught me many things, but I never thought it defined me. My summer has altered the way I think, feel, and act.

The last two nights we had all together I tried to savor every moment. The thought of us all dispersing across the country was too saddening for me to even comprehend. So, I did my best to not let it get to me, but of course at any given moment I would have tears streaming down my face. Goodbyes were often, which didn’t help. I woke up with headaches from crying hangovers. My eyes would barely open because the bags underneath them had become mountains. Those 48 or so hours we had after the beach were easily the saddest of my life, but lest I forget the good times we shared. 

The positive moments might be far overshadowed by those of loss and grief, but they are there. The afternoon we spent on the boardwalk and sitting on the beach was perfect. It was peaceful. It was a time to reflect back on the summer while still in the presence of those who I shared it with. It helped me to transition back into my real world life. 

We ate dinner together one last time and then went out one last time. It was a bizarre night to say the least, but I would expect nothing less from Bike and Build. The morning after we all moved slowly. It was like the last host clean up in San Jose. However, this time it was exponentially slower. It took over an hour for me to vacuum a single room (granted I had to go in between each individual row of seating). 

Many of us rode in Eva, the van, one last time to go to San Francisco. We dropped Nate off at the airport; then Matt at the Greyhound station. I met up with my family at Fisherman’s Wharf and spent the afternoon coordinating one last dinner with Sarah, Stewart, Kate, Dan, Alyssa, and Jackson. It was a total Bike and Build afternoon when it took us literally hours of loitering in the SF Aquarium while discussing logistics on how to get to dinner. 

We met at the restaurant, which was within the walkable distance of .6 miles, anything further and we probably would have refused. It was an incredible night just being together. Then, came some of my last goodbyes, which seemed to get harder and harder every time. I think I hugged Sarah and Stew about 15 times each. I didn’t want this summer to be over and saying goodbye to two of my leaders seemed to make it all far too real. I cried massive tears in the car on the way to drop off Dan and Alyssa…and I’m sure everyone in the car knew it too. 

When we finally arrived in the hotel that night Kate and I got our own beds. It seemed like too much. I loved getting my own space, but after living so simply this summer it seemed like too much. However, I gladly laid down in my comfortable queen sized bed. We yelled from our separate beds and said goodnight one last time. 

The next morning we woke up late, packed our bins and moved my stuff into my mom’s room and took Kate’s to the car. I actually got to drive a real car for the first time since May 24. That was an incredibly bizarre feeling. We drove all the way to Palo Alto, a mere twenty minute drive that would have taken us four or five times longer by bike. There we met up with my mom, got breakfast, and discussed what to do with the rest of our day. 

Eventually, we decided to head up to Livermore to go to a few Vineyards and Wineries. It was an excellent decision. The tours didn’t start until 2pm so we decided to get pedicures while we waited. The timing was perfect. We arrived at Wente with 2 minutes to spare. Joe, our tour guide told us all about the process of making both white and red wines and then gave us lots of extra tastings. It was like that at all the places we went, including Crooked Vine and Concannon. The generosity of those who we tell about our adventure seems to never cease. Concannon even gave both Kate and I free signed jerseys from their owner. 

At about 6:30 we arrived at the San Francisco airport where I had to say goodbye to Kate. I had to tell myself it would only be a short time before seeing her again in order to keep some semblance of composure. I think I only choked up once, but saying what I thought would be my last goodbye was hard. It ended Bike and Build for me. My demeanor changed. I could feel it instantly. As Stewart would say, “I went to my dark place.” 

Luckily, it wasn’t my last goodbye. I was still able to meet up with Alyssa and Dena for lunch and then with Jackson for dinner and again for an epic bike ride. He met up with me at my hotel in Redwood City, just south of Palo Alto. We had decided to ride over the Golden Gate bridge, but weren’t really sure how to get there. We didn’t have chalked directions or cue sheets, so we made it up as we went. Not too long into the ride we met Bob. Bob was a God send. He tried to give us directions on how to best get to san Francisco, but ended up just riding with us until we got to Skyline Drive, which took us almost all of the rest of the way into town. Bob was cool. We liked Bob. 

After leaving our new found friend we continued on. It started to get hot and hilly, but I didn’t really mind. I complained of course, but wouldn’t have traded being right there for anything. Then, as we got into South San Francisco the climate quickly changed. We stopped for some food and as soon as we got back on the bike it was absolutely frigid. My teeth were chattering and my body shook as I tried to churn my legs. Eventually, my body warmed up enough to where I could stand it. The sun even started to come out as we got further and further into the city. 

We had found a bike path that led us to the Great Highway. Even though we just rode next to the path we were grateful it was there. It was like a security blanket. One of many beautiful parts of the ride came next as we merged on to the Great Highway. It took us right next to the shoreline all the way into Golden Gate Park. It was breathtaking. 

The park was also a highlight of the ride. Around every turn there was something unexpected, such as a waterfall that was 2 stories high or the bison just hanging out next to the polo pitch. We slowly made our way through the park and eventually went up a fairly steep incline on our way to the immigrant lookout. It was gorgeous. What I didn’t know was that wasn’t even half as beautiful as the bay. 

Next on our tour of the bay area was the old military base. It’s quite possible that back before my grandpa was shipped off to Korea that those barracks are where he stayed. He left America by sailing underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, so I like to think of it as I rode JP there as a bit of a tribute to him. The armory even had an incredible lookout, which was actually the first time I could see the bridge in all its vast glory. 

As we made our way to the bridge we weaved in and out of traffic, which got us a bit disoriented. The bridge itself has a large path for pedestrians and bikes and the road for cars, but we missed that memo. We rode right on the bridge with the cars and soon figured out what a huge mistake that was. In case you have never noticed by car, bridges have slits and separations in them so that they can move as necessary. We came upon our first holes in the road and made it over fine. Then, the next time they seemed to get a bit larger, and every time after that they got larger and larger. My front wheel made it over fine, but the back one felt as if it may have dipped into the hole in the ground. However, the final one that did us in was big enough for mountain bike tires to fall through. I slammed on my brakes and clipped out of my pedals, but didn’t manage to stay fully upright. Luckily, the cars behind me were paying attention and stopped for me. My whole front wheel had gotten lodged in the bridge. I could see ocean beneath me. This was not safe. Jackson had also had issues with the bridge so we decided to throw our bikes over the 7 foot fence separating us from the pedestrians. 

We took a breather and watched the wind boarders below us in the bay. I might have said it before, but this actually was breathtaking, which was ironic since we were trying to catch our breaths. When we felt like we could ride again we made it to the other side with no problems. We even made it back over to the San Francisco side with barely any issues. In fact, we made it through China town and up and down Lombard street (easily a 14-16% grade) with relatively low problems. It was the public transit system that became the true highlight of the day. 

We locked our bikes on the bike rack in the train and went to find some seats together. The only 2 next to each other were by the restroom so we sat down. It smelled terrible. I’m talking worse than our laundry burritos after 3 straight rainy days and then letting our clothes cook out in the hot sun. It was rank. Then, to top it all off we saw two people trying to go into the restroom at the same time to do only God knows what, but refuse to go in at all because of the stench. It wasn’t long after that that we decided to go upstairs and sit in the single seats that had a much more pleasant smell. We reached the Palo Alto station not long after that and waited outside for Denise to come pick us up for dinner. 

There was a man yelling at a police officer there. From their argument we gathered that another man had flashed the angered citizen while on the train. There had been a huge scene made on the train and the conductor had kicked him off. The details are far funnier, but they are certainly not appropriate for here. Then, just as the man and the police officer left, a woman approached us and asked for help. She told us she was very sick and needed help figuring out how to get home. We did our best to help, but don’t know much about the bus or train system yet. So, she went on to another man where she told him what to do. She insisted he walk back to where he had just come from and ask when the 22 bus was leaving. It was a short walk and probably could have done it herself. When he said he had to do one thing, but would come back in just a moment to help, she turned to us again for help. She then revealed that her only “medical condition” was diarrhea. She had “eaten something for dinner that wasn’t quite agreeing with her stomach” and she couldn’t wait the 45 minutes for the next train. It took all I had not to laugh right then and there. I thought back to all the times on the bike this summer where I had eaten something that didn’t quite agree with me, but I kept riding the next 60 miles to the host site. 

It was a wonderful week that helped me transition back into the real world. I’m still so very lonely, and probably will be forever, or at least until Northern ’14! I can’t imagine a life without Bike and Build as some part of it. Hopefully, in the future I will be able to help coordinate host sites with NC2SD as they come through Memphis or even lead in a couple years. My life was complete while biking and building this summer. Now that its over there is a huge hole in my heart waiting to be filled with reunions. I miss each and every one of my teammates with my whole self. I can’t wait for December to ride the Chris Webber Memorial Ride. What a wonderful life I have.