Day #1 Venice Beach to LAPD Police Academy

On April 14th we started our ride across America. At 6:30 am the 12 bicycle riders in this event waded into the Pacific Ocean at Venice Beach, California for a ceremonial dipping of our tires in the water. Four weeks from today we plan to do the same thing on the other side of America in the Atlantic Ocean near Washington, DC. Each rider is wearing a bracelet in Rememberance of a fallen Police Officer. From Venice Beach we rode through Downtown LA and then up to the LAPD Police Academy. It is here that the Official send off ceremony was held. In attendance was the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa and Assistant Chief of Police, James McDonald. This moving ceremony also included several families of Officers who recently were killed in the line of duty. A specially engraved Police Baton was presented to the Mayor by the Coordinator of this ride, SLO Craig White of the LAPD.