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Well, I
am ready! (I keep telling myself I am, anyway). I am packing
those
two little bicycle bags (with not nearly enough clothes) and I
will leave on
Tuesday, May 29 to fly to San Francisco, CA. I will have a few days to
acclimate myself to the West Coast before heading out at dawn on
Sunday, June 3rd.
I have been
riding since Mar 01 (coincidentally when I bought my new car),
first in the gym and then on the road in April and May. I cycled to work
anywhere
from one to 3x a week (30 km or 18 miles oneway) during the past several
weeks. It gets a bit tricky dodging cars and trucks on the busy highway
I work
on, and then there's the AIRPLANES landing and taking off over head.
My Nerves!
I have
made excursions to Niagara Falls and cycled along Lake Ontario,
Paris (just Ontario, calm down) via a railroad track/trail conversion,
and
even Lake Erie and tobacco farm country in rural Ontario
(Turkey Point-- yeah, I know, I thought that, too).
My attempt
at the first cycle trip of the season in Kansas was aborted
from severe wind and weather from two tornadoes blowing through.
And I thought the planes were distracting.
I promised
myself 2001 would be an exciting year and hey!, it's not even half over.
How do I feel?
A little nervous! Am I really as well prepared as I could
be? (No, but I could always be more prepared.) I will do fine.
The hills! (I know, I know! I prefer to think of it as cycling through
rolling California country side. Just don't look up!)
Besides, only 50% of it should be uphill.
One final thank
you to all my friends who supported me in this effort.
My friendship map is quite extensive. From Perth, Australia to British
Columbia to California to Florida to Kansas to Alabama to Washington,
DC to New Jersey to Pennsylvania and of course, Toronto, your enthusiasm
and encouragement has been truly heartening. You will all be with me in
spirit
and that support just may be the umph that gets me to the top of that
big hill!.
Thank You!
I have raised
$4125 U.S. thanks to all of you and your generosity. I will be
publishing thoughts from a journal and photos when I return. Look for
them
to appear around June 24th.
In the meantime,
thanks again for your help and for YOUR participation in
the CA AIDS RIDE 8.
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