Oxnard to Marina Del Ray, 54 miles

Today's ride was a lot of fun.  We got a little concerned that about 30 minutes before we were scheduled to leave - we got a downpour that lasted about 15 minutes.   Must have dumped 1/2 inch of water.  But we are in Southern California so by the time we were 1 mile out of town, the roads were dry.  Everybody had taken put on their rain gear and we all had to stop and remove our gear as the temperature quickly went back into the 70's and 80's.

 At nine miles out of town we passed a Navy airbase and got to see some "previously used" weapons.

 The fun part is that everybody got to have their picture taken as if the missile was on your back.

Right after the Navy base we had to get on Route 1 - which is generally loaded with cars.  They are either whipping by you or parked on the shoulder of the road, so it normally can be a pretty scary ride.  But because of the rain - the roads were empty and there were only a few people heading to the beach.  It was if we had the road mostly to ourselves for the first 30 miles.

We had a couple of hills but most were either pretty mild or my legs are getting stronger and the hills did not seem to bother me.  At about 35 miles we rode into Malibu and started to see all the "movie star" houses hugging the coast.  I wonder what happens to these houses when there is a strong tide or storm.  I doubt seriously that they are able to get home insurance on these houses - but perhaps they don't care.

After passing Malibu we got on a bike path that took us directly to and through Venice Beach.  I have been there in the past and it seems to have changed - from a really hip place to a tourist trap that has three kinds of stores - henna tattoos, bad street art, and pizza by the slice.   Lots of people living on the strip and the strong smell of dope in the air.    Just not a cool place any more and decided that it was not worth stopping so I jumped back on my bike and headed to our hotel in Marina Del Ray.

We have one more day of riding (shortest day on the tour) and when we get to the hotel we will break down our bikes and get the ready to ship them back home.  Most people will leave tomorrow and only a couple of us (who have to get a plane back to the East Coast) will stay the night.

We had a "farewell party" this evening and got to thank the staff for an excellent tour - and  we got to say goodbye to new friends.

One funny story.  We had two couple from Europe join us about 10 days into the tour and before they joined the tour in Crescent City, they were reading Mike's blog where he was highlighting the Oregon portion of the tour.  They got concerned when they looked at the rider photos and they thought they were joining a senior citizen tour and had figured they had signed up for the wrong tour (all of us at the beginning were over the age of 60 with at least three riders in the 70's).  But as they said during their farewell remarks - they were super impressed on how well us seniors ride and it gave them inspiration and motivation to keep riding until they reach our age - in 25 years!!!!

I must admit even I am impressed that John (76), Rodger(72), Jim (74) and Sarah (69 with a birthday next month) blasted though this ride.  Give me hope that I myself will be riding (and skiing) for at least another 10 years. Quite remarkable when I think back to what our parents did when they were in the mid 60's.  And hopefully our kids will even be better as they age.

So tomorrow we head to Costa Mesa on our last ride.  I think it is about a 40 mile ride - so we should get to the hotel fairly early.   Hopefully I can get in one more blog entry.