Day 61 - August 15 - Los Angeles, CA

Considering it was my last day and really wanted to return to civilization and get a much needed shower, it took me a while to get going in the morning. I really wanted to just leave my tent and sleeping pad and some other crap at the campsite that I will probably just throw away but I packed it all anyways. I got out and reached Malibu, which is not all that impressive. It's Saturday so there's cyclists everywhere. They were all traveling pretty quickly which made me really pick up my pace. The whole trip the only thing I've never worried about was speed. However, I'm competitive and wanted to see if I could keep up with these guys. A lot of people would just do a big burst to pass me up and there was no chance to catch them but one group got stopped at a red light and I tailed them for a couple of miles. There were three of them going about 24 mph and I was drafting right behind them. It was cool but they didn't notice I was there and I got tired because I had a shitload more weight on my bike and my bike is about fall apart. Other than that group and a group of girls that I passed up while going up a hill, most people zoomed past me and I never saw them again.

After being distracted by all the cyclists, I was pretty much all of the way through Malibu. There didn't seem to be anything too exciting going on there except a few restaurants that were probably overpriced and a few beaches. I continued to follow the coast until I got into LA, woo hoo. It wasn't all that exciting. After that, it was a quick ride into Sherman Oaks where I tried to locate my friends' house but failed. Boo. I called from a gas station and Nick came and picked me up. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but my cell phone has been shut off and I have been using a calling card, boo U.S. Cellular.

So, now I'm done with the trip and it really hasn't sunk in yet. In all, I traveled about 3,180 miles which for some reason doesn't seem like a whole lot to me. Now I have to prepare for my plane leaving for New Zealand on Thursday, woot!