AUG. 5, Los Banos, California, to Pajaro Dunes, California, 75 miles via California Routes 152 and 156, U.S. Route 101 and Santa Cruz County roads. Average speed today, 12.7 mph. Total trip mileage at finish, 3,955. Average daily mileage since June 1,  60.5.

We kicked off the last day with breakfast at County Waffles with Ben’s friend Adam Jorge and his brother Benny -- our support crew for the final day of the journey. Then we lit out on 152 for Pacheco Pass, our last real climb of the trip.

The grade proved more formidable than we had expected – not because of its steep pitches, but because of non-stop and extremely heavy truck traffic. Even though the highway was four lanes and occasionally included a fifth passing lane and even though the shoulders were wide, the nonstop sound of 18-wheelers bearing down on us was, to put it mildly, disconcerting.

Believe me, 152 is no recreational ride. Instead it was harrowing and nerve-wracking.

Relief finally came at the 156 intersection, where we turned off toward Hollister and San Juan Bautista. The two-lane road was busy, but not crazy.

Also, by noon we were like horses on the way back to the corral. The final hours were under way.

My friend Randy Seelye, who had escorted us for more than 1,000 miles in Colorado, Utah and Nevada, had driven down from his Santa, Rosa home to join us for the last few miles.

We stopped outside San Juan Bautista for water and Clif bars, then began the final lap. This included a few miles on busy U.S. 101, but shortly we exited onto a county road that weaved through the coast range and into the Pajaro Valley.

Here we flirted with a minor disaster. Ben complained of a “thump-thump” from his rear tire and inspection revealed a bulge slightly smaller than a golf ball.

Replace the tube? “We’re less than 10 miles away,” said Ben, waving off the idea. “Let’s go for it.”

We pressed on, but stopped twice to reinflate the ailing and leaking tire before we got to Watsonville. There, after handing off our camera to Randy, we headed west on Beach Street and began the straight shot for the Pacific.

We passed packing houses, then berry and lettuce fields. As we approached Pajaro Dunes, the traffic thinned out and I swung out to ride side by side with Ben to the finish line.  He turned it on as the state beach entrance came into view, and we flew into the parking lot as Randy snapped photos.

Then came an end-of-trip ritual we had dreamed of for weeks. We lugged the bikes over the dunes and down to the Pacific, where we dipped the front wheels at 3:36 p.m. After 66 days and 3,955 miles, our cross-country journey was all over.

We changed our sand-caked biking shoes and headed into Watsonville, where Randy bought us all a celebratory lunch at a downtown Mexican restaurant . Then we bid him farewell and Adam drove us home.

Ben celebrated with his friends until 1 a.m. Wednesday. I dropped asleep in minutes.

There would be no more daily pedaling, endless motels and diners,

My reaction? It was the adventure of a lifetime, and I’m glad I was able to share it with my son. But I’m just as happy not to be climbing on my bike and away from my family again.

It will no doubt take time before what is important and significant about our trip comes into focus. But right now I’m just happy to be home. 

August 5, 2008