{"id":223425,"date":"2015-09-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/helix-high-alum-publishes-memoir-of-bike-trip\/"},"modified":"2015-09-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T07:00:00","slug":"helix-high-alum-publishes-memoir-of-bike-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/helix-high-alum-publishes-memoir-of-bike-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Helix High alum publishes memoir of bike trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alix Rude<\/p>\n

There are a myriad of dazzling views of the Pacific coast that become breathtaking and palpable on a bike ride along the nearly 1,750 miles while being passed by endless cars. Andrew Johnson was just 16 years old and a student at Helix High School when he approached this stretch of coast with determination to finish the trek. That same determination has also inspired him to publish a memoir about the trip.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s story begins as a Helix High School junior searching for an out-of-the-ordinary experience for an exceptional senior project. Johnson had always held a fascination and respect for biking and after reading Lance Armstrong\u2019s biography, he was inspired to push his dream into action.<\/p>\n

\"Alix<\/a>
Alix Rude stands with Andrew Johnson after the completion of his internship with Senator Joel Anderson. (Photo courtesy of Senator Anderson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Johnson, there was no \u201cone most enjoyable part\u201d of the trip, but different parts that came together for a \u201cride of a lifetime.\u201d The most beautiful aspect of the trip, he revealed, was the redwood forest he traveled through in Oregon shortly before joining Highway 1 in California.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinishing was the most rewarding,\u201d Johnson chuckled, but reaching the finish came with numerous hardships. He dreaded the loneliness of the trip, saying he reminisced in past events as he tried to fight off the ever-present emptiness, as revealed in the memoir he wrote about his trip titled\u00a0\u201cAnd So I Rode.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout Johnson\u2019s adventures along the coast he kept a \u201clittle, red journal\u201d by his side, jotting down notes describing the colorful characters of people he met and the stunning scenery he passed by. Having the journal was planned, he explained, but only wrote for a few short minutes before he cooked a quick dinner and slept. \u201cIt was mostly short sentences, I wasn\u2019t focusing on being a great writer,\u201d he said. \u201cI just wanted to get it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon returning home, he opened his journal one last time to write\u00a0\u201cAnd So I Rode,\u201d a memoir of his experiences along the coast. He also wanted something to be proud of 20 or 30 years down the road and with this adventure and tortuous tale to tell, he will be proud for years to come.<\/p>\n

Johnson is not only a dynamic student in school, but an active part of the community as well. He recently completed a total of 125 hours with Senator Joel Anderson\u2019s Office where he received a certificate of recognition for his tremendous public service and the impressive accomplishment of his memoir.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith his can-do attitude and determination, Andrew became an incredible asset to our team and helped many constituents get their voices heard in government and the help they needed from a state agency.\u201d Anderson said. \u201cI was amazed to learn about his riding trip he took in high school and I can see that it helped Andrew become the man he is today.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Johnson departed for Pennsylvania for his second year of college at the University of Pittsburg, he left with the same commitment to excellence he had while riding the Pacific coast.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em>Alix Rude is a junior at Grossmont High School and a Legislative Intern for California State Senator Joel Anderson.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alix Rude There are a myriad of dazzling views of the Pacific coast that become breathtaking and palpable on a bike ride along the nearly 1,750 miles while being passed by endless cars. Andrew Johnson was just 16 years old and a student at Helix High School when he approached this stretch of coast […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":784,"featured_media":222296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"Helix High alum publishes memoir of bike trip","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11548,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-la-mesa-courier","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/784"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}