17-04-08  Day 01

Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA to San Bernardino, CA

Today we began our journey back east. Finally, the big day arrived. We have waited and planned for more than a year to make this a reality and today it became so. Leading up to this moment, for the past 3 days, Karen and I have been treated like royalty by my cousin Heather, her husband Kritsana, and their two wonderful boys, Mattias and Micah. During our stay we were treated to breakfast each morning, anything we needed for our trip, and dinner each night. Not to mention the wine and craft beer we were served. They are the BEST! Our endless gratitude to them for their 5 star hospitality. 

So, Day One began at Santa Monica Pier with a 7:30 am planned photo shoot. The typical photos of Karen and I with our bikes at the pier sign, dipping the rear tire in the Pacific Ocean, and a small group photo with Joan Spinelli who is a dear friend from Dover, PA, and Heather and her family (photos to come soon). Now, on with the show!

The journey begins

Karen, Randy and Joan Spinelli 

Don't get your toes wet!

So Karen and I decided to use a Garmin as the primary means of navigation. And, although we had many "dry runs" with the unit prior to our departure, we definitely experienced a frustrating learning curve during our first leg. We had planned for an approximate 82 mile ride from Santa Monica to San Bernardino and ended up with 92+ mile ride today. We'll try to do better tomorrow.  Then, we had planned to pick up our first of many supply drops at the San Bernardino YMCA. This too presented  a small challenge as we ran late in the day due to traffic, many uncooperative signal lights, a few minor mechanical issues, and that darn Garmin. In spite of these things we ended our day with positive attitudes and a smile. A smile for a sense of accomplishment and a smile to reassure each other we can do this. 

Karen on her box transportation mission.