Day 54: the end

Woke up this morning to frost, the high elevation leads to cold nights. But it warmed up quickly when the sun started shining. Within minutes of riding I had shed all my warm layers. The ride west would take me up and down a few times. The last big climb led to the last freeway ride. At the top, on the on-ramp I met another biker. He came up from the valley and was just getting ready to go back down, so we rode together. After 5 miles of freeway we exit and follow old 80 the rest of the way. The road alternates through suburban and sub-countryside with more houses and traffic as we reach lower elevations. Finally we reach his destination, but I have 25 more miles of urban riding to the coast. By this time the winds had picked up and clouds covered the sun. SanDiego was expecting a windstorm, but not until tomorrow. Still it was cold and windy as I rode through stoplight after stoplight. Finally when I came to the city I was able to ride down Balboa drive that winds through a nice city park. From there it was just a few blocks down hill to my final destination! Finally I was finished. I got off my bike and walked into the Amtrak station. It was getting dark, and by this time too cold to go to the water so I decided to skip the formality and just get on the train and go home (my new home) to Oakland. It's been a long trip and somehow this day feels no different than any other.