Saturday, August 6th, 2016

Today was a great day! Lindsey and I dedicated today’s ride to our own Jack’s. Jack Marston, the father of 2 of Lindsey’s classmates, died in 2004 of skin cancer. A close family friend of mine, Captain Jack, has gall bladder cancer and it has recently spread. He is a very kind, loyal man with the sharpest memory and a love for sports.

Today’s ride had quite a bit of elevation change, and with it temperature change. We started in our warm gear, took it off at the top of the first big climb, and then froze on the descent. Today’s down hills were some of the most fun we’ve had. The roads were very curvy and beautifully lined with tall trees. The views of Napa were gorgeous, and we rode past numerous vineyards. Today is the first day we got to see the typical beauty of California. We also got to appreciate the beauty, because the other side of the mountain wasn’t scalding hot, and we didn’t experience any horrible winds. Everyone had a very enjoyable ride!

Lindsey worked at a water buffalo farm, Double 8 Dairy, in Petaluma last summer, and we got to visit it! She gave us a tour of the farm, we played with baby water buffalo, and tasted many flavors of water buffalo gelato that they make in house. It was so fun seeing her so excited to show all of us, and we had a wonderful time.

We did dessert before dinner, but dinner was also a success. In-N-Out is a popular burger chain in the west, and we all decided that we’d rather go there than have pasta and lentils. It was a fun last dinner together.

We are all in disbelief that we finish our ride tomorrow. It’s a very bittersweet feeling, but we are very much anticipating the sense of accomplishment we will feel as we cross the bridge. It will be odd not being together constantly, but we know that we will always share this unbelievable experience.

We are having a jersey signing party tonight and probably staying up way too late reminiscing about favorite and funny moments. Lindsey is currently playing sad songs like “You’ll Be In My Heart.” It has been an incredible summer that deserves to be reflected on. I am looking forward to spending this last night together.

We’ll see many of you across the bridge tomorrow!

DR