I’m writing this 8 days out but in reality it’s been closer to 8 months of preparing for this ride. Seems like a long time but the truth is it’s been surprisingly difficult to keep the distractions at bay. Between work, weather, and my own anxious / impulsive / self induced setback creation skills, I feel I’ve just managed to squeeze in enough riding to feel prepared. Aside from some kind of super challenging ride this weekend, I’m done training. Aside from a bivy fail on my dry (more like wet) run and the insistent twitch to get my bag lighter, I’m good to go equipment wise. Received my guide to Cycling the Pacific Coast so the route is more or less plotted.

The Ride to Conquer end of things is all taken care of so all that’s left for me to do is to do the damn thing! Looks like most of the donations are in but the donation page will be available until the fall so you’re welcome to make donations while I’m on the road. The response has been amazing and we’re sitting at about $3500 right now. I encourage you to donate through my page but you’re more than welcome to donate to your local society or one of the following:

Livestrong: The Lance Armstrong Foundation unites, inspires and empowers people affected by cancer.

Fuck Cancer: A movement that activates Generation Y to engage with their parents about early detection of cancer.

At this point I’m still looking for advice on stuff to see and places to stay. I’m doing the hiker biker thing for the most part but it’d be great if anyone has a contact who can put me up for a night or offer a warm shower etc. My only planned stops are San Francisco where I’ll take a day or two, and Los Angeles for a weekend with Michelle, Steve and Nicole who will be flying down to join me for the last leg!!! Excited to say the least! I’ll keep this thing updated as I go so check back often or just follow if you have a Tumblr account or preferred RSS reader.