day 41: encinitas to the mexican border

it was a slow start to our 50 mile day. we ate most of our leftovers and fueled up to zig zag through san diego. by the time we got out the door, it was already hot. eep.

the four of us decided to ride together today since it was our last (and because m&m were going to stay at my sister's place too, after all was said and done).

(typical meredith move) 

although 50 miles isn't a short distance, i felt like lingering today. there was little urge in me to pedal fast. i wasn't sure i felt ready to be "done." 

the nice thing about cycling is that it's a really nice pace to help with transition. not as slow as walking, but not as fast as flying. our arrival to the border felt well paced, well deserved. 

we stopped by la jolla's the living room for lunch, and saw our friends susan and michael, and then weaved our way through san diego's bicycle path maze. samuel did an excellent job of guiding all four of us to the border. and as we got further and further from the more popular areas of sd, the streets became more tame. it gave me the quiet i needed to just be there to be in my own disbelief of such a feat.

(green bike lanes are the best!)

meanwhile, all four of us tried to come up with a "trail" name as is popular in the thru-hiker community. meredith came up with "song" for me because she said i am someone writing my own song for my life. it really resonated with me and then it clicked!!! my trail name is "songbird" and it's been that all along. samuel gave it to me before we even started dating, and it only clicked now. my heart was thrilled to adopt a special name for my adventures. 

(our first "mexico" sighting) 

we arrived at the border to be greeted by samuel's dad who escorted us to the pedestrian entrance. we took plenty of photos to mark this enormous moment, and then...very simply...turned around and walked away. 

done. finished. complete. 

it's hard to believe that with every push of the pedal, from pain to glee, we cycled from canada to mexico. (i am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.)

my sister picked us up and we miraculously packed four bikes and ALL our bags into her honda odyssey and drove ridiculously fast to her home in san marcos. (it would've taken us two days to bike the one hour we drove.) a korean feast was prepared for us by my sister and bro-in-law and we ate until we were more than satisfied.

we started as two and ended as an unexpected four. relationships strengthened and deepened. desires and intentions clarified. darker and more muscular than ever. more confident and humble than our first days of pedaling. and more full of awe. 

what a fulfilling journey indeed.