day 21 - lompoc then chandler

44 miles today. With each hill I told myself it was the last, only to be enthralled by another in the close distance. I reached my aunt's house north of Santa Barbara: the end of my trip. I rode fast and alone and made it there by lunchtime finally feeling done--not because I felt weak, but because I felt strong. Tired, but strong.

Aunt Anna made up a climatic lunch that was the perfect conclusion to the 1,400 miles and three weeks. Dale came home, Lisa and Danilo arrived and we talked about the trip/cycling/life for some time. It was nice to shower between real walls with variable temperature control, and use shampoo, and stretch on carpet, and not eat like it was my last, and talk with people who know me. Dinner in LA's famous Tommy's Burgers and unsuccessfully avoided bums. I think we all had a hard time staying awake driving home. Just made it in around 4am.

I close my eyes and feel the gentle support of a mattress. I no longer hear the wind brush through the trees. The sounds of outdoors are motors. My window is glass, not mesh, and it suggests a rising sun, not a setting.

-niko (by the desert and farms)

...pictures to come.