Day 70! Mill Valley, CA to San Francisco, CA

• Distance: 10.94 mi
• Elevation: 768 ft
• Dedication: Uncle Tim and Team Zion <3
• Ride group: Maggie, Bailey, Chase, and James, same as Day 1 :)
• Host: none!

The day we’ve all been waiting for and simultaneously dreading: the very last day of 4K. Despite only having 10 miles to cover we woke up at 5 because we needed to leave the host by 7:30. We also weren’t supposed to get to Baker Beach until 12 which meant we had a lot of time to kill– no issue for this team!

We had one last dedication circle and many of us dedicated our days to the team. I had my first cry of the day because I am so moved by each and every member of this team and what we have accomplished together. The rest of our time at our last host was spent trying to figure out what to do with all the random stuff we still had in the vans and trying to find the van keys– we went 69 days without losing the keys and misplaced them the one day we didn’t have an AirTag on the lanyard!

I finally hit the road with the same people I rolled out from the Inner Harbor with– Maggie, Bailey, Chase, and James. It’s surreal to think back to that day, how we were all feeling and how we did on our first day of riding, and compare it to today. Maggie had not ridden much at all before send-off and wasn’t very comfortable or confident on her bike. She and Bailey both suffered significant injuries and pushed through as often as they physically could. James had a sprained ankle on Day 1 and had to walk up hills. Chase still committed to the ride knowing he had to leave the trip early and cared enough to make the journey from Omaha to San Francisco to ride with his team to the finish line. I was nervous, worried, and a little insecure about being a director. Ten weeks later I’m still a little bit of all of those things, but I have come to realize just how capable I am and have benefitted from the love and trust of the teammates I was honored to lead.

We rode only a few miles to a breakfast stop, where we killed a lot of time and spent the last of our donated food fund– big thank-you to all the people who covered meals for us this summer! Then we had just a few more miles to San Francisco, which we spent listening to Bailey’s 4K playlist and reminiscing on the summer.

Eventually we turned a corner and had our first view of the San Francisco skyline. We were all quiet and I was personally overcome with emotion as the weight of what we were about to finish sank in. And, a few minutes later, we caught our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, which came with even more emotion, some “wow”s, and a few tears.

We met as a group before crossing the bridge, and when we got off our bikes Maggie and I just held each other and cried. We still had a few miles to go but we had done it. Despite injuries and COVID and thunderstorms and flaky hosts and broken vans, we made it. I cried mostly from pride but also from sadness– as excited as we all were to be there, I think we were all dreading our last few miles together.

The view from the parking lot level with the bridge wasn’t enough, so we all got back on our bikes and went up a pretty significant climb to an overlook area, where we took a lot of pictures– prime profile picture material!

While we were there we got a truly absurd notification: it was time to BeReal! BeReal is a weird social media app that notifies you at one random time each day to share a picture of you and your surroundings. It’s supposed to encourage spontaneity, whatever whatever– anyways, a good chunk of the team had been using it all summer and it was such a crazy coincidence that our posts of us at the Golden Gate Bridge were actually us being real and not us putting it off until we had a cooler post. Here’s an assortment:

We then grouped up and attempted to cross the bridge together (big mistake). The bridge does have a dedicated pedestrian lane but it only runs on one side, so you have two-way traffic in one bike lane that becomes super narrow at times and also has a few turns and high winds and a TON of traffic… needless to say I was not surprised when someone behind me yelled to stop because there had been a crash. In my head I pictured a 20-cyclist pileup on the bridge; in reality, some idiot had come flying down in the opposite direction through a narrow section and clipped Jack’s handlebars. Jack was fine but the guy went flying and damaged his bike. I didn’t feel too bad for him, to be honest, but it was still unfortunate. But it wouldn’t have been 4K if something didn’t go wrong! I only got one photo on the bridge because I was too scared to pull my phone out again.

We regrouped again once we all made it safely off the bridge and headed to Baker Beach as a super mega-group, blasting “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic on repeat (our song of the summer after seeing Top Gun), completely blocking traffic, and not caring one bit. We did our best to stay behind the runners so we could arrive as a full team but had to pass them on a downhill. They then got on a trail that we couldn’t ride on so we ended up arriving from different ends of the parking lot. As we rode in alongside the ocean I was overcome by the same emotion I felt when Bailey and I summited Trail Ridge: happiness, disbelief, and gratitude that was so overwhelming it made me cry. That, plus seeing my mom for the first time in 70 days, had me ugly crying for a few minutes.

After reuniting with our families we went down to the beach for our arrival ceremony. Some of the Ulman staff spoke and recognized leadership and our top fundraisers. We all received Ulman flags and 4K alumni bracelets, and then it was my turn to give a speech. Many weeks ago I began jotting down random thoughts to include in a final summary post for this blog. The more I added to it and revised it, the more it took the shape of a farewell to 4K that I wanted to share with the team and our loved ones. Here’s a written out version of what I shared:

Casey once accurately described 4K as “controlled chaos”. With every high we had equal lows. But even the miserable moments were magical. We’ll tell stories about the time we biked on a “road” in the desert or the only rainy summer day in Lake Tahoe whenever we’re given the chance. Last week when I was packed into the host van with 8 people, 2 coolers, 20 bags, 6 wheels, and a trash bag full of baked goods (among other things) I couldn’t help but think that I’d never be uncomfortable in that specific way again.

That’s the beauty of 4K– it forces you to realize how fleeting each day is and to find beauty and wonder in every moment, even the uncomfortable ones. Most beautiful of all was getting to experience everything, the highs and the lows, together.

Together we laughed and cried, celebrated and mourned, and loved and fought (once literally).

We went through gallons of Chamois Butt’r, miles of KT tape, metric tons of fruit snacks, and cases of Bapples.

Together we drove our vans into the ground. We rigged up doors with duct tape and zip ties, turn-signaled the old fashioned way, and convinced a tow truck driver to drive us three hours to St. George, Utah, for a new van.

Together we got faster and we learned to go slow.

We physically pushed each other up hills and ran each other over.

Together we ran 40 minutes late to everything, on average.

We shared deep conversation, COVID, and poison ivy.

Together we flew down mountains at 50 mph and crawled back up them at 4 mph.

Together we discovered strength in pushing onward and strength in knowing when to call it a day.

We got delirious in the desert heat but still got goosebumps when we thought of our dedication stories.

Together we were screamed at by motorists and supported by total strangers.

We jumped out of planes and off of cliffs, slept under the stars, saw some of the most beautiful spots in the country, and enjoyed every sunset.

Together we learned how to be human, to be better, to be courageous, and to be committed. We worked toward a future where no young adult has to face cancer alone.

Together we were vulnerable each day and dedicated our rides and runs to people affected by cancer. As I wrap up, I’d like to make a few dedications myself.

To our parents, families, and loved ones: thank you for supporting us on this crazy journey. We know you were worried about us all summer and probably couldn’t figure out why on earth we’d want to do this, but we couldn’t have done it without your support

To the loved ones who are no longer with us: thank you for motivating and inspiring us. Some of our “why’s” aren’t here today physically but they were with us every mile.

And lastly, to my team: it has been the honor of a lifetime to be your Momma Goose. Thank you for supporting me, listening to me (most of the time), and showing me that I never had to shoulder any of my burdens on my own, be they personal struggles, grief, or director duties. I will carry each of you and the memories we made together with me for the rest of my life. This is the end of our trip but only the beginning of our journey, and we are all on a journey. Because of you I am and will always be 4KOK, and for that I am grateful. Thank you.

There are a hundred more little memories or quips I could’ve shared to summarize 4K, but I hope if you are reading this blog for the first time (or even if you’ve been following along all summer) that gives you a little glimpse into the beauty and challenge that is 4K. Each time I rehearsed this speech leading up to arrival I cried so I was very proud of myself for keeping it together, especially during the last part. I thought that reading it to the team would be impossible to get through, but having them there (and having them laugh at the part about listening to me) surprisingly made it easier.

After that it was time for the fun stuff! We dipped our front tires in the water (we dipped our rear tires in the harbor in Baltimore):

Took a group photo and did one last spiral group hug:

Had MJay lead one last high-energy cheer and popped some champagne:

And then ran into the water! It was freezing but I didn’t care at all– we all splashed, hugged, and cheered as we celebrated the end of our journey. It was one of the happiest moments of my life (even when Santi unscrewed the bottle of harbor water he carried on his bike all summer and made a whole stretch of the beach reek of rotten eggs).

Once we had enough of freezing in the water we got back to the beach and collectively had a “now what?” moment. I took a few more pictures, said some goodbyes, and then helped rack bikes on the van so they could be boxed up and shipped– no, I am not biking home!

Dad and Beth gave me a ride back to the hotel, during which I made one last 4K gas station stop and bought a Starbucks canned espresso for old times’ sake. I was then treated to a nice shower and a delicious Italian dinner with my family. I almost fell asleep at the table so a nap was in order when I got back to the hotel, and I ended up falling into a deep sleep for about three hours. My mom knew I was supposed to meet the team at 9 to celebrate, so she woke me up at 8:30 and I genuinely had no idea what was going on. But, I rallied and made it to the karaoke bar where we laughed and talked and sang before it got way too crowded and we left rather unceremoniously.

I returned to the hotel alone– what a strange feeling after so many weeks of togetherness. Even stranger was knowing that I wasn’t going to sleep on my pad, didn’t need to wake up at 5:30 and pack all my belongings into a duffle, and wouldn’t be spending the next day on a bike with some of my closest friends who were strangers not so long ago.

This is an official wrap on my daily 4K updates but I plan to share at least one reflection post and one summary by the numbers when I have the time to put that together, so I hope you’ll stick around for those! Thanks for reading, I hope you had even a fraction of the fun I had this summer :)

Until next time,

Lauren