Despite the fact that it has been a struggle to keep up with friends this past year due to the pandemic, the effort that seniors Christian Juarez, Alex Ho, and Sean Tat made for each other is undeniable. To begin this journey as a substitution for typical senior events that the pandemic stole, such a prom and homecoming, they in a sense had their “ride of a lifetime.” 

  Throughout their time in quarantine, Ho, Juarez, and Tat take long-distance bicycle rides together whenever they can. Following almost a year full of restlessness, the trio decided they would cycle 128 miles from Monterey Park to San Diego, visiting places such as La Jolla Beach and Gaslamp Quarter. The pandemic was an obstacle to reaching their final destination, but not enough to turn back around. 

“Honestly, the ride to San Diego was only supposed to be practice for a ride from LA to San Francisco. I remember one of my friends last summer said he wanted to cycle to San Francisco from LA, which is a multi-day journey,” Juarez explained. To think that a 128-mile ride was simply a warmup for him and his friends is insane to think about. It exemplifies how much you can achieve if you are motivated enough. 

The ride to San Diego was planned with the intent of being a challenge for the cyclists. On November 21st, the three cycled more than 100 miles in only one day. “We chose not to divide the journey into several days, partially to challenge ourselves,” said Tat. However, this journey had a major problem that contributed to its difficulty, the coronavirus pandemic. Due to this, the boys would take an alternative route from what they were planning to take. “In order to complete our journey to San Diego we would need to go through Camp Pendleton, but outside entry was closed due to the pandemic. Up to the gate, I was under the belief that someone inside the army base would be able to grant us entry,” explained Ho, but when he heard that they had no choice but to either turnaround or travel on the I-5 freeway, he was shocked. Not only did this alternative route increase the length of their trip, but they also had to cycle on a dangerous pathway, the freeway. Having to risk catching the coronavirus along with biking in an extreme environment could have led to dangerous consequences that threatened their safety. Despite the risks, they returned back safe and sound.

“It would definitely be a good experience to go on another cycling journey such as this one. However, as all of us are entering college soon that may not be possible. Even so, I would love to ride to the beach again with the same original group,” Ho says.

 Throughout the experience, this determined group’s bike ride had an underlying message: One should not give up on anything as determination and optimism is enough to prove that anything is truly possible. Even a 128-mile ride of a lifetime.