59.8 miles, 4:20 ride time, 6:50 total time

First, this post is coming a bit late. The post-ride logistics left me no time to blog, and before boarding the train home, I wisely packed my computer-to-phone cable in my backpack and checked it. I’m posting this by leeching free WiFi from a nearby access point while the train home is stopped in Paso Robles.

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The ride in from Ventura was wonderful, through Oxnard and Port Hueneme, and then on the Pacific Coast Highway for just about the rest of the route. No hills at all for the first thirty miles, a couple of minor climbs once we hit Malibu, and then some rolling hills on into Los Angeles and Santa Monica before we pulled in to the VA Center on Wilshire for the closing ceremonies.

Perhaps it was because the riding was so easy or perhaps because we all knew the ride was coming to an end, we all seemed to ride at a more leisurely pace than we had before, but either way, we found ourselves at the end of the ride not long after lunch. We parked our bikes, walked around, got some food and water, and talked and rested while we waited for the ceremonies to start.

The closing ceremonies were relatively simple. All of the riders gathered together around the block, and we made a big entrance riding in together for the TV cameras. The CEO of AIDS/LifeCycle, the directors of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, and a few others made short speeches, and the Positive Pedalers escorted the riderless bicycle back to the stage. We held hands and respected a moment of silence for those infected with or who have succumbed to HIV or AIDS. After a few more remarks, we got a sort of abbreviated camp news, then watched a couple of videos taken from the ride.

The riders were all thanked, the roadies were all thanked, and then we were left to go. AIDS/LifeCycle 9 concluded, and I was now officially a ride veteran, not a newbie, and the real world quickly started intruding on the post-ride glow. The team broke up; Gina and Allison left to catch their rides home while Emjay, Doug, and I went to pick up our luggage and catch a shuttle to our hotel near Union Station. Tomorrow, I’ll be on Amtrak heading home.