Day 3 Holtville to Ocotillo: 53 miles (April 3rd)

Day 3: On the third day of our ride, I had professorial duties and needed to head back to San Diego. Julianna rode solo under the watchful eyes of Doug and Anthony. Despite a much needed respite for my bum, I was sad that I wasn't there and felt like I let Jules down. I could sense it In her voice and her embrace before I left for the drive over the mountains. Of course she did fine but I really wanted to ride all 280 miles with her. At least she can say she rode the whole way but her old man didn't. So as a way to raise my spirits--and let's be honest--a way to show off my awesome progeny, I showed a picture of Jules and myself to my classes. Given the course is a human development class, I could discuss middle childhood and the importance of building self-confidence through goal setting and goal achievement. After switching on the projector and watching the picture slowly develop on the screen, I thought about what this trip means to me as a father, mentor and man. I gave some context to the picture and described what the trip was about and then. And then, as I told them about her determination to do this ride, my voice cracked, and I choked on those three words, "I'm so proud." And at that moment, it all made sense.