Day 12: Rosemead, CA

4:30am Wakeup call in Thousand Oaks this morning, our earliest day yet. However, it was a great day. We started up in the hills north of Los Angeles, riding down into the valley the city lies in. It was a 65 mile ride, but went by rather quickly because of all our interesting surroundings. I mean, we rode right through the heart of LA on a Sunday morning, seeing all sorts of interesting characters: hippies, dogs wearing sweaters, and worst of all, Lakers fans. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the dirty city; it smells bad and is filled with liberals that all need baths. However, it is relatively flat, which is wonderful for an Okie cyclist such as myself. We arrived at our lodging, a Christian youth center, around noon and had delicious sponsored sandwiches. A very fun friendship visit ensued with the Down Sydrome Association of Los Angeles. The director, a lovely lady, finds jobs for the clients in the entertainment business! Essentially, we were hanging out with movie stars. My new friend, Blair Williamson, has appeared CSI, ER, and even Glee, where he has become good friends with the cast. He was a hoot, and started a dare contest with me. He wanted me to ride my bike off of the roof of the building and do a backflip. Not a chance that was going to happen so I made a deal with him that involved our team doing hundreds of pistils. After the visit, we showered and headed to a delicious sponsored dinner. We are all currently stuffed so full we can hardly move. Day off tomorrow with two friendship visits, beyond excited!