Brad - As I suspected my tire was flat this morning. First one for me. By the time I changed it and got going I was a few minutes behind the group. Then I ran into Craig who had a blow out. Then Jan who also had a flat. Rough morning. This was our longest day and hardest, not because of hills but roads and traffic. We did spend some quality times on bike trails however. The route called for staying on the road at one point but I stuck to the trails until Redondo then asked some surfer dude how to get back to the PCH, then peddled on into Long Beach for lunch. Turns out the others got lost on the road and found the lunch site 30 minutes later then me. Jesse never did make it. I left first looking for Jesse so had a few minutes head start. By the time I hit Laguna Beach I was ready to kill something. The traffic was awful the terrain and roads were bad and at 98 miles into the day the sign said 14 miles to go. NO! When I found the camp area Jesse and the motor homes were there but no camp sites were available and we had no place to go. NO! Well praise God there was a hotel two blocks away and I grabbed a room. Everyone else arrived after dark. Ron and Keith stayed with me, others got another room and some went to the Tustin Church. We ate at Carl Jr's, that was different.

Jesse –This ride was easy, in that it was pretty flat and ran along the beach in a lot of places, particularly on the beach bike trails. However, it was hard because it was the longest day we did (I actually had 112 miles when we were done.). I got separated from our group as we going downhill and through traffic lights just north of Long Beach. I didn't have a map with me, and knew that I was supposed to go on a bike trail somewhere, but was not sure where. Fortunately I knew we had to go South on Pacific Coast Highway, which I did, missing our group at lunch and meeting up with them at the end of the day. I also didn't have my cell phone with me, so I ended up stopping at 4 different state parks on the way in to figure out which park we were supposed to be at. One helpful attendant told me which one, but when I got there, I was told that we did have tent sites that night, just RV's. So, following Brad's lead, we stayed in a hotel right down the street the last night. That was another welcomed stay, it was much more comfortable and nice because it rained that night. It was also easier to get ready in the morning, shower in a real bathroom. Most of the rest of the group drove 1/2 north to sleep in the Tustin church, and had to drive the 1/2 back in the morning. I will use the excuse that we had the boys, and needed a place for them to stay ;-).

Craig - It was a long ride today yet very fun. We are just having a blast with these few days remaining. I want to thank Christopher and Katherine's friends for bringing lunch. The bike paths along the beach boardwalks were an interesting contrast to the rugged coastline of Washington and Oregon and Nothern California which we experienced earlier in the ride.