ALC Orientation: I'm Ready

Lately I feel like I have been constantly racing the clock.  There just never seems to be enough time.

Many times I have caught myself saying things like, "if I just had another day to write this paper," "another hour to write this report" then everything would be fine.

However, for once I don't need "just another hour, day, week, etc" - I am ready.  Ready to climb on my bike and ride 545 miles over 7 days.

I was analyzing my training over the past 5 months today and realized I have ridden over 1100 miles and spent over 100 hours training for ALC 11.

A week ago last Saturday I did my last "long" ride before ALC 11 and rode to the junction of Mt. Diablo.  My legs felt strong.

I am ready.

Today was Orientation Day.  It included going to the Cow Palace in San Francsico (where the ride starts) to check in and drop off our bikes.

We watched a safety video, got our tent assignments, gear truck numbers and our bike numbers.  Then it was home to eat dinner, finish packing, and {hopefully} get to bed early.  I have to be on the road back to San Francisco at 4:00 am.  

Bike parking for thousands of bikes!

Samantha and I's bikes ready to roll!

I have felt pretty good throughout this whole thing but today definitely left me feeling a little nervous.  Tomorrow we roll out at 6:30 am and travel 82.5 miles from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.  Pray for cloudy skies, cool weather and the wind at our back.

Day 2 takes us from Santa Cruz to King City riding 109.2 miles (which will be my new personal distance).  Day 3 is King City to Paso Robles for 66.7 miles.  Day 4 is Paso Robles to Santa Maria riding 97.7 miles.  Day 5 is from Santa Maria to Lompoc for an easy 42 miles.  Day 6 goes from Lompoc to Ventura for 83.3 miles.  Finally Day 7 has us riding from Ventura to Los Angeles for 60 miles. 

My goals for this ride are simple - ride every mile, enjoy every minute.  We are given approximately 12 hours a day to finish the route - this isn't a race, it is a ride.  You get nothing special for finishing first.  In fact, the more people that finish people you is just that many more people to cheer for you when you finish.  I want to take it all in, take lots of pictures, and just enjoy riding my bike down the beautiful coast of California. 

I will post pictures and a small re-cap of the day each night so check back daily.

That you again from the bottom of my heart for your support.  I will start my ride tomorrow having raised $3295 - almost $300 more than my goal.  I will think of every text, email, and facebook message of encouragement throughout the week. 

I am so excited to get on the road and can't wait to share this crazy adventure with you!  See you tomorrow in Santa Cruz!