"Excited, but a little sad" is how Nico described his feelings about this final rest day. He said the journey has flown by and it doesn't feel like they've been biking for 5 weeks. Yesterday's ride into Phoenix was his favorite of the entire trip so far - beautiful sunrise behind the mountains, 6% slope downhill for much of the afternoon, and part of the ride was on a nice bike path rather than roads, which was a fun change of pace.

This next week will be really hot. We reminded him of heat safety information, which he assured us he'd remember and use. He said they plan to get up even earlier than usual, around 2am, to start their rides (they have headlamps on their bikes). Thursday is "desert day", as Nico called it, and then Friday is "mountain day" - which will be one last push with some major climbs. Saturday they'll cruise, mostly downhill, into San Diego. He sounded so proud that they will ALL make it to the coast, as a team. 🤞

Their plans for this afternoon included a water balloon fight, games, Chipotle and relaxing. We asked if he had any special requests for when we see him in 6 days. He asked us to bring his favorite hoodie and his airpods. Guess he's planning for some major vegging out very soon 🙂.

Can't wait to see him!!