BOULDER, Colo. -

Ryan Van Duzer did it.

He pedaled from San Diego to Washington, D.C., on a three-speed cruiser bike to raise money for a Boulder bike organization and to make a nationwide statement "to bike more and drive less.â

"My legs are sore; my whole body is sore,â Van Duzer said Thursday, a day after he reached the Washington Monument. "I'm ready to be done.â

Van Duzer, a 1997 Boulder High School graduate, set out for the cross-country bike tour June 20. He cruised at about 13 mph and averaged 80 to 100 miles of travel a day.

With some help from New Belgium Brewing Co. and the League of American Bicyclists, Van Duzer rode the 30-pound cruiser nicknamed the "Duzer Cruzerâ - towing a 50-pound trailer - and stopped at eight bike-friendly cities across the nation to talk about the perks of cycling.

But his main objective - well, second, to having fun - was to raise money. He raised $3,000 that will be primarily donated to the Community Cycles After School Kids' Program to teach Boulder schoolchildren bike safety and maintenance.

Van Duzer said the experience was great, the uphills were tough - and he's never going to do a bike tour on a cruiser again.

He plans to return to Boulder - by airplane - on Aug. 19, with his cruiser safely packed away on a shipping truck.

On the last leg of his trip through the West Virginian Appalachian Mountains, he said, he pedaled, and sweated, up roads steeper than any he had ridden in the Rocky Mountains.

"However, something good did come from pedaling through these hills,â he wrote in his final dispatch for the Camera. "As I was slowly struggling up a steep incline, I met Danny, who turned out to be the nicest guy in the world. His red pickup pulled up beside me and a friendly voice called out, 'Hey man, where you goin'?' Between breaths and trying not to hyperventilate, I said, 'D.C., coming from California.' Danny must have been impressed because within 20 seconds of knowing me, he invited me to stay with him for the night. Danny is a hard-working coal miner with a heart the size of Santa Claus. He fed me like a king, and we talked late into the night about following our dreams.â

With 70 miles left to Washington, Van Duzer noticed that his right pedal wasn't rotating correctly, and he found "a huge crack in my crank arm.â It snapped off, and he pedaled one-legged for seven miles to Shepherdstown, W.V., where there was a bike shop.

"To my horror, though, the sign said it was closed on Tuesdays,â he wrote. "I wanted to cry.â

He got on the Internet and found another shop, 12 miles away in Harpers Ferry. The mechanic from that shop happens to live in Shepherdstown and said he'd meet Van Duzer with some parts.

"Nick, my newest hero on the road, fiddled with my bike until 11 p.m,â Van Duzer wrote. "With a 50-year-old chain and a new mountain bike crank, I once again had a working bike.

"The final 70 miles to D.C. were a dream; it had all finally come together with the help of a team of 'strangers' I met all across the great country.â

Despite the challenges, Van Duzer said, "not finishing was not an option.â

In all, about 20 people met up with him during his adventure to ride alongside him, give him meals or a place to stay.

"The best part was all the wonderful people I met,â he said.

When he finally pedaled into Washington, he wrote, he "stopped for a moment to savor the moment, and then I called Mom to let her know that I had gotten there safely ... as I did every night of this adventure.â

He shared a bottle of champagne with a friend at the Washington Monument, relaxing for the first time in six weeks.