Well, I am exhausted. But just alive enough to write a blog post to tell you exactly why I’m exhausted. This morning at 6:30 a.m. Jamie and I met on the Ocean Beach bike path to begin our journey northward for Oceanside. I been longing to do a distance ride and become a better cyclist, but we were also on another mission.

December with Mixte often means a look back at the year and a look forward to next year with our clients. In the Bike Coalition’s case, it means a recap of the top 13 regional bicycle achievements of 2013.

We decided what better way to talk about all the incredible bicycle advancements in San Diego County this year than to just show it?

So we hatched this adventurous plan. And my legs didn’t quite know what they were in for.

About five miles into our journey, Jamie’s friend Tom joined us. He and Jamie are old rugby and cycling friends. He is also the sassiest man you’ll ever meet. He continually grumped about Jamie and I stopping to capture photos and video but we know he was secretly happy to come along.

Together the three of us rode through Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Leucadia, Carlsbad and finally arrived in Oceanside for a total of 41 miles – my longest ride to date. We arrived with some extra time before catching the coaster to head back, so we had breakfast in our very sweaty bicycling attire. Afterwards we rounded the corner to catch the train for a much faster journey home. Maybe next time I’ll be ready to climb that Torrey Pines Hill. Stay tuned for that post.*

*Update: Since this blog was published, Mia has climbed the Torrey Pines Hill – and did so like a champ.