It was over before we knew it. It was hard to believe we had just ridden close to 500 miles during our three days in the Baja.

Before lunch on our last day, we took a detour from the trail and rode on the beach. It was really spectacular. One thing I'll always remember about the first group was they liked to ride fast – no matter the surface. The beach was no exception. While dodging the waves coming in from the ocean, we reached an area where more rock formations appeared. Instead of going through the waves, I decided to dodge the rocks which I realized was a big mistake when going 45 miles per hour. I performed my first "Superman" move in my riding career then, flying off the bike as my front tire hit a rock. As I was soaring over the handlebars I found myself laughing at the irony of what I was doing in the Baja, never having ridden off-road before. Fortunately, I missed the rocks around me and hit sand, still smiling. The sand was soft and as I got up I saw the other riders looking back at my entire maneuver laughing their heads off. I think they knew based on what I did and how I landed that I wasn't hurt. Apparently I was fully stretched out with both my arms raised forward. For perhaps a split second, I did look like Superman.

Later in the day, as we were about to reach the support vehicles, we stopped to take in the scenery one last time by a pine grove surrounded by sandy trails. Even though we had only spent three days together, it really did feel like we accomplished something special as a group. This is also where Ed, our group leader told us the story about why he rode with a Barbie doll on his back pack.