I delayed posting this last post a few days since doing so would really be saying goodbye and admitting it was time to go home. However as I go home today I guess it is time. Also even though there won't be anymore real posts, heads up there will be more photos and some GoPro videos to come.
I woke up the morning after our wheel dip extremely confused. It was 4:15 and I was freaking out as I was looking left and right. Where was everybody, why was I in a comfortable bed, I didn't like it one bit. I realized where I was and instantly felt disappointment it wasn't mid-trip with weeks left to go. However I got dressed and ready to leave while brushing my teeth Jenna sent me a text wishing me good luck and I responded with why are you awake. It was 4:30 and her only response was able to be my body is just use to it. Another sign of hard adjustments to come.
I finished getting ready and hopped in the car with my mom. It was a nice 2 he drive and for some reason despite my exhaustion I couldn't fall asleep. I think I was just very uncomfortable being in the car and full of emotions from the trip. Around 6:00 another great text came through the trip's GroupMe. Lisa sent out "We're all secretly awake. When's bfast....?" Clearly Jenna wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep in despite the option to.
I then met up with Josh, a long time friend from camp, who I hadn't seen in quite awhile. We grabbed some breakfast and headed over to the race course. We saw a great submission for B&B naps if the guy was only part of B&B and got ready for the race. We both were quite stupid though and didn't warm up or stretch as we should, which I know I am now paying for.
The race was fun though, halfway through I went to change songs on my phone and saw a bunch of encouragement from my fellow riders. I ran a 1:55:54 time and was quite pleased. After the race Josh and I hobbled to my moms car and decided we weren't up for lunch or anything really. So we dropped Josh at his place and headed back to Monterey. We made one food/ice stop though, and the copious amounts of In-N-Out definitely helped.
We then made it back to Monterey with time for me to shower and meet up with everyone around 2:00. It was a casual afternoon of hopping a few bikes, packing up a few things, and just hanging out. Around 5:30 we picked up some Papa Johns for everyone as around 6:30 Those of us with family around grabbed a separate dinner. It was nice to meet them all a bit more and share our trip. After a little while most of the trip then came and joined our table for a drink as finished up dinner.
The night then was sad a bit or an incomplete dance party as some people were already gone, but a chance in general for us to keep hanging out. I kept going in and out of sleep as I was so tired.
When the morning came it was really sad to pack our bins, load the trailer, and say our goodbyes. We were up by 6:00ish again and didn't have to be out until 10:00 so everything was quite drawn out. When it came around 9:00 my mom arrived and I began to realize it was almost time. There were definitely tears and more reunion plans already being made. I loaded up her car and we headed out we spent the day in Carmel and along the 17 miles of scenic highway between Monterey and Carmel. It was nice to eat real food and walk about (even though my legs disagreed). However I kept checking my phone for more Instagrams, Snapchats, Facebook photos, and texts to connect me back to my trip.
I guess now all I can do is "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened," and wait for what's next.