Day 42: The Wind Down…

The wind down.  Can you believe it folks?  At this moment we have 9 trips left in the field.  By the end of tomorrow, we’ll have only 5 remaining…and those groups finish on Saturday.  Ah well, all good things must come to a end…but not before the Apo blog carves them into the indelible stone of the internet! Viva la memories!  And our apologies in advance for the lack of images today!

VMA: It’s a rest day folks…a “we’ll remember this day for the rest of our lives” type of rest day. Between the gorgeous old city, the shopping (underground malls perhaps?) and the awesome group of friends these guys have made, this day of bouncing around Montreal will be remembered.  

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VMB: …But hey, VMA doesn’t get the city all to themselves! The VMBers are also rolling around Montreal for the day, exploring the sights and sounds, recalling all of the jokes and stories from the trip…and trying to forget most of the hills. To restore their strength there’s always the last night dinner out- dig in gang!  

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CSA: Puerto Rican city chillin is the order of the day on CSA. Hannah and Dylan’s group are spending gorgeous (80’s and sunny) day exploring the forts, restaurants and antiques shops of San Juan. 

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CMC: Jack and CC’s crew are still livin’ it up in the back country, meaning no photos. Hang tight folks!  They’re scheduled to emerge tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll do our best to post some tomorrow night.

NWXA: It’sssss kayakkk timmmeeee!! Kelly and Garth’s gals and guys are exploring the waters, coves and inlets around Cypress island in the San Juans.  Cell phone/data service is sparse on Cypress, so despite numerous attempts by Kelly and Garth to send a picture today, it hasn’t come through…  We’re hoping for success tomorrow.  In the meantime, here’s a map of the San Juan Islands so you can at least see where they are.

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NWXB: The NWXBers can be found with their backpacks on their back, fresh mountain air in their lungs and their smart phones wrapped in waterproff plastic deep in their bags…that’s right, they’re in the back country! No pics today guys.

PC: Everybody eats, everybody sleeps, and if you’re on Ally and Tim’s PC trip you do both…in the middle of the day! These shots are of the PCers taking a post lunch nap on their ride to Bodega dunes yesterday.  And one from today along the Sonoma Coast! Today brings more beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore riding!  Tomorrow…San Francisco!

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ACC1: ACC1’s living the beach life in San Diego…but it’s not all fun and games as the goodbyes are starting to commence. After forty two consecutive, laugh filled, momentously challenging and at times terribly difficult days spent together on the road, it’s a blatant understatement to say that it’s going to be a hard goodbye. 

photo 1Some of the ACC1 crew doing the SoCal thing this morning.  Surfs up!

photo 2A shot from a couple of days ago after the final wheel dip…

ACC2: CAPS LOCK? ON. BOLD? YES. IT’S THE BIG DAY FOR ACC2!!!! Over 2500 miles done. Easy. Snap. Finished. Kaput. Time to relax and be in awe of the pure size of this accomplishment! Here’s a huge round of congratulations to everyone on the trip from those of us in the office, and a special thanks to leaders McKayla and Mike for bringing the group in SAFE and sound. 

IMG_7058 (1)These ACC super stars spent their morning enjoying the ride and some treats along the way!

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The welcome crew (including the ACC1 group) eagerly awaiting the ACC2 crew’s arrival…

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They were armed with some spectacular banners and signs…

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And at 2 PM PST, they watched as our 2013 ACC2 group reached the Pacific Ocean..

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 Congratulations team!!