Day 1

Well I'm sitting at my computer drinking a final cup of coffee before setting out on Day 1.  It has been an amazing few months of fundraising, training, and preparing for today and honestly it's kind of hard to believe that it's finally here.

Last night I was up late making final preparations on the gear which surprisingly took a long time considering how much I'm bringing... or not bringing depending on how you look at it.

Here is my pack for the next 10 days.

The pack volume is 700 cubic inches... or "Not Much" in layman's terms.  Most of the gear is bike related and includes:  Spare tubes, patches, pump, and CO2 cartridges.  For comfort I have a pair of shorts, tshirt, and flip flops for the end of the day to change in to.  I have detergent to wash my bike outfit in the sink.  Sunscreen, nutrition, towel, and chamois creme are all that remains.

Lots of people might think the ride is mostly putting in a pair of headphones and jamming out all day blindly pedaling but you might be surprised to learn that although I bring my headphones I hardly used them last year at all.  What I found was between trying to keep on route, avoid potholes, avoid traffic, stay hydrated, it's almost impossible to concentrate on all that stuff and listen to music.  At least it is not relaxing to do so.  It's actually really nice to just get out on the open road and hear the wind, birds, and tires on the road.  There is nothing better than the sound of a well oiled chain gliding along gears pedaling down a smooth road.  I can't wait to get this thing going!!

The bikes ready so it's probably about time to get going.  Smell ya' later.