Day 41 - San Diego to Mexican Border and Back - Riding the California Dream - CycleBlaze

October 20, 2022

Day 41 - San Diego to Mexican Border and Back

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The last day of riding. Forty miles of as pancake-flat as it gets. And I was ready for it. And yet not. I wasn't sure how I felt as we set out all together in a group, riding to the marina to catch a ferry to Coronado and then follow the bike path along the Strand to the border: excited, sad, happy, exhausted, wired, and ready to go home, all at once.

Parking bikes in the ferry with Bernice, Scott, Mac, Mercedes, and Steve.
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Grant and Colleen enjoying the sun on the upper deck as the ferry pushes away from the dock.
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Steve, Linda, and Marty in the midst of (apparently) serious conversation.
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Looking back at the ferry dock and surrounds.
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View of the USS Midway Museum from the bay.
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View of San Diego and The San Diego Coronado bridge from the ferry. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to ride a bicycle across it.
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Another view of San Diego across the water. So crystal clear and blue — I just couldn't resist taking a lot of pictures.
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Once we reached Coronado, we branched out again, all traveling at our own pace as usual. The path along the strand is long and straight and, I thought, mostly uninteresting, though there are some wildlife and bird sanctuary areas that probably merit some investigation. But I had a bit of a headwind and a great deal of motivation to get to the border, so I pushed on.

At Imperial Beach, the path ends and you have to jog through town and side streets along the Tijuana River Valley to get to the border. The streets are wide and traffic was sparse. Along the way there were a lot of horse ranches and a couple of times I stopped to let a line of riders cross the road.

Finally, I entered the border park and followed a long stretch of narrow road surrounded by sagebrush and weeds, which turned into a gravel and dirt road as it headed toward the beach. 

I was the first one there, and I wasn't sure exactly where we were supposed to meet. My Garmin led me directly to the beach, so I found a log and sat on it, enjoying the beach and contemplating the 30-foot metal wall between my Mexican neighbors and me.

The dirt road leading to the border. You can see the fence curving along the border in the distance.
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No man's land between the two fences.
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The fence, reaching out into the ocean.
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I felt a little conflicted, smiling with this artificial border behind me, which represents so much political strife.
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The end of the road.
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After I sat on the beach a while, reflecting on the last 41 days and what I had accomplished (more on that later), I began to look around. The rest of the group must have arrived, I thought. And sure enough, I looked up and saw a group of them at the top of the hill. So I grabbed my biked and found my way up to Friendship Park.

Hamming it up and celebrating our accomplishment. Everyone but John, who is behind the camera.
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Everyone kept telling me I looked like the woman on the ACA trailer who's holding her bike above her head, so I just had to do it.
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We rode back the way we came, only with a tail wind to carry us along. At this point, I was anxious to get back as quickly as possible and see Rich, who had driven all the way from Napa and was waiting for me at the Hostel. We planned to spend the night in San Diego (at a real hotel, I might add), and then drive home the next day.

The tour was over, but my reflections on it continue. I plan to add one last post to this blog, my thoughts about this epic journey and where I might go in the future. So, stay tuned. And thank you for riding this far with me.

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 1,755 miles (2,824 km)

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Susan CarpenterCongratulations Amber! And special kudos for finding a workable hybrid between self-contained and ACA touring. Looking forward to learning what comes next.
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1 year ago
Amber StarfireTo Susan CarpenterThank you Susan!
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1 year ago
Rachael AndersonCongratulations! I cants wait to read the wrap up. Lik Susan, I’m also curious about what comes next!
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1 year ago
Amber StarfireTo Rachael AndersonHa! Me too. :-)
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1 year ago