Tour De La Dead V2

55 Miles

I woke up before 6 feeling surprisingly refreshed, despite my sleeping pad deflating during the night. The hard ground turned out to be quite comfortable for sleeping. I rode 15 miles out of Malibu to reach Santa Monica, which wasn’t too challenging since I left early before traffic picked up. Along the way, I saw plenty of cyclists out enjoying the morning. I texted my friend Joe to let him know I was nearing his place.

As I reached the boardwalk along the beach, I rode past the iconic Santa Monica Pier and continued down to Joe's apartment. The side streets looked exactly like the LA I had envisioned from movies and TV shows. Joe greeted me outside, and it felt surreal that it had been two years since we last saw each other. I parked my bike inside the gate of his apartment complex, and Joe took me on a tour of Venice, showing me all the cool spots in that vibrant section of LA. It was great catching up and reminiscing about our times in Florence during our study abroad.

We returned to Joe's place and said our goodbyes. My next destination was Seal Beach, where I was staying with my cousin Rachel for the night. People had told me it was about 15 miles from Venice, but according to my phone, it turned out to be closer to 30 miles. I mostly followed bike paths but had to call Rachel to let her know I would be late for dinner.

Navigating through North Long Beach, I took a bike path near the Los Angeles storm drains. It was a bit sketchy due to homelessness in the area, but I managed to pass through without any issues. Finally, I spotted the sign for Seal Beach and called Rachel to let her know I was near her house. She came outside to greet me warmly, and it felt wonderful to see family after so long. We FaceTimed my mom for a chat before enjoying the pasta she had prepared for dinner.

During dinner, I FaceTimed my friends Ryan and Alivia, both of which were celebrating their bachelor and bridal party that weekend. It was great catching up with them and our other friends. After saying goodbye to them, I spent an hour chatting with Rachel and Matt before we all headed to bed.