On Our Way...

Well, we're ready to leave for the big trip! I finished my training this Tuesday morning, clocking in 490 miles over the last 9 weeks. Now I'm about to do it all over again -- in one!

We've gathered all the sunscreen, energy bars, water bottles, bike shorts, gloves, sunglasses, cameras, cash, maps, tents and actual bikes that we can think of.

So tomorrow night we'll be driving about seven hours to my Aunt Joanie's house in Utica, Nebraska, where we will stay for the night. Saturday morning we'll continue on to Omaha, meeting with my dad, stepmom and uncle Craig for lunch. From there Dad will ride with us to the start town -- Sargeant Bluff -- get us situated and take the car to Des Moines for the week.

And we'll see the car again at the Mississippi. At least god, I hope so. In the meantime, we'll be able to see my Dad again as we pass through Waukee, and my uncle Brian and his family as we pass through Coralville. After the ride, we'll have a night to catch up with my brother David and his fiance Lori before we head home.

And did I mention that we'll be hanging with WADE the entire trip?! Can't wait to see that guy, he's going to give Lance a run for his money.

Anyone who might be reading this has already wished us lots of luck, and I have wholeheartedly appreciated all your nice thoughts and support, you're the best!

Tour de Moines

The training continues... This week I had my biggest week, 17 miles each day in commuting for a grand total of 85 miles. Whew! I didn't think I would be doing that much, but it's amazing when you need to get to work, or back home, how quickly you just accept your situation.

Some interesting tidbits from the trail:

On the 17 mile stretch that I use for commuting, about 5.5 of them are on city streets, which leaves 11.5 on the Cherry Creek Bike Path. I could live without the city streets of course, but most of them are either one way flowing with traffic, or blessed with bike lanes. It's about as ideal as I could hope for.

My highest speed was 30 mph. Not too shabby!

I now have a weird tan line across both thighs.

The bike path is more rich with odd activity than you might think. There are lots of cyclists who think they are actually riding in the Tour de France, and are probably very disppointed with the performance of the rest of us. I've been passed at absolutely alarming speeds.

Then there are the strange older men who ride around with bare bellies and jean shorts. I am usually passed by these folks also.

And then there are the pleasant retirees who are out for a stroll, and not really concerned about the cyclists whizzing past them. Some of these I'm convinced are doing actual physical therapy on the bike path.

The population that outnumbers the cyclists are the dog walkers, and I'm happy to tell you that I haven't been tangled up in a canine incident yet, although I have been forced to give the evil eye a couple times...

Last week I saw a police cruiser drive toward me onto the bike path. But this was not part of the path that was adjacent to a road, this was part of the path that diverged from the road and went down to the creek side. Startled the bejesus out of me!

I've become very handy at replacing the chain on my bike when it comes off of the rings. The first time this happened was enormously frustrating, and I had bicycle grease all over myself and my clothes. Now I can snap it back with a minimum of fuss, although it still bugs me. Apparently bikes are very maintenance intensive for the first 500 miles. Remind me to buy used next time.

Last week I saw someone with a Ragbrai 2006 jersey on!!

And I saved the best for last, so here's your reward for reading it all. This year Ragbrai is welcoming a new rider -- besides me of course. I couldn't have asked for a more interesting perk for all my training, check out the company I'll be keeping. (Or more likely spying from a distance.) Lance Armstrong! Click here for more.

I've ordered my new camera, so stay tuned for some photos actually taken by me coming up.