Well the BEST news is that I DID IT!!!! And that when I arrived, I had my wonderful psrents and tired girlfriend welcoming me in.. riding in that last moment and realizing I just cycled the state of California, made new amazing friends, and was a part of a huge effort to raise money and awareness about HIV/AIDS.. I burst into tears.
But.. let's rewind a little - I know I missed a few days of updates! I was exhausted. :) Still am.

After the winds riding into Lompoc - I was so tired. Coming into Ventura, I was really looking forward to a Southern California beach! And sure enough - the campsite was right on the beach! As the entire moving city came closer and closer to Los Angeles, more family and friends showed up. I was really excited to meet the important people in the lives of friends I had made. The buzz around camp was surprisingly more serious and I think the realization set in that we only had 67 miles until the trip was over.

That evening was perhaps one of the most moving experiences I have ever had: The Candlelight Vigil. No amount of descriptive words will do it justice.. but I will do my best. We entered the beach in a large line - the ALC staff handed us candles and we all lit each others. Before we knew it, our feet touched the sand and I found myself entering a circle of 2500 people - their faces lit by 2500 candles. The beach was absolutely silent except for the crashing of the waves -- we found our place in the circle and looked across at all the people. It was amazing to think that the people across from us had once been strangers and now we were all part of a community -- a community of love, of caring, and that found ourselves on the beach for the same reason: remembering people who could not be a part of that community, who had been taken by HIV/AIDS and taken too soon. All at once, everyone lifted their candles to the sky and held them high... one by one, people began to walk to the ocean and let the waves put out the little lights. The emotions, the overwhelming silence, and the companionship of all the people still gives me chills.

Our tent-neighbor let ashes go of a friend who passed away from AIDS after he signed up for the ride.

The next day, we rode into Ventura and as I remembered the Vigil, I rode with wings. I felt the power of a thousand people push me through the coast and up every last hill. I am convinced they were all there because I made the best time to each stop and to the closing ceremonies all week! And I was SO excited to see my parents.


The closing ceremonies were emotional... as the Riderless bike was walked down the center of all the cyclists and Roadies, the girls next to me grabbed my hands and we all remembered why we did this. Yes, we did it for the challenge and yes, we did it to push ourselves.. but most importantly, we did this to join the fight against HIV/AIDS.

We did this because since the AIDS epidemic began in 1981, 1.7 million Americans have been infected with HIV and 583,298 have died of AIDS-related causes through 2007.

We did this because an estimated 21% of people living with HIV are undiagnosed.

We did this because every day people are being infected. and every day people are facing sickness and death because of HIV/AIDs. We did this because we have to do more than "treat" but we need to find a cure.

This has been the most emotional and life-changing week of my life. Kaili and I are both exhausted still and the reality of life was a let-down from such a high week, but every day we remind ourselves the importance of the cause and the importance of making a difference - even if it is just one person a day.

Oh! And we signed up for next year already!! So we can look forward to more of this:

Rest Stop 4 - California Gurls