packing and prepping

these last few days before i head off are always filled with bits of anxiety.  i was talking about this at dinner last night with my daughter halle .  i'm in that middle gray zone between finishing up all my prep work and waiting for the ride to start.  my bike is packed and shipped and i can't do more training.  i get filled with all the "what if's" while i'm waiting.  what if i haven't trained enough.  what if i'm not ready for the hills.  what if i'm too slow for everyone else.  what if my shoulder doesn't hold up, or my left hand doesn't recover from the nerve compression, or i have another bout of saddle sores.  yes, i worry about everything.  i've done all this before and faced all those challenges before, but it doesn't stop me from worrying anew.

i'm sure that, once again, i've packed too much clothes

the past couple of days have been all about shopping lists and checking to make sure i've got everything i need for the ride.  my experience last year told me that i need to prepare for more than what the ride organizers suggest.  you never know what the weather is going to be (an icy cold lesson we learned years ago while riding across montana in the middle of august!), when you're going to get a chance to do laundry, or what other unexpected twists and turn might occur.

and, hopefully, enough tools, supplies, equipment

besides all the clothing and equipment, there's been the matter of shipping my bike and my clothes to the starting hotel in san francisco.  i'm going out ahead of the ride to spend a couple of days with jesse and samantha, my son and older daughter, out in los angeles where both now live.  as a result, i not only had to get my bike shipped ahead of time, but am also sending my ride gear ahead so i don't have to schlep it all the way to l.a. and then up again to san francisco.

the lads at sid's bike shop

so, as i'm about the head out of here, i do want to thank those who have been helping me along the way.  thanks to the guys at sid's bike shop.  once again, they were great at getting my bike prepped for the ride.  they even boxed it up and dropped it off at the ups store for me.  thanks guys.

thanks to my trainer michelle adams.  through all my complaining, she helped me overcome my knee, hamstring and shoulder challenges and got me into much better shape for this ride.  thank you michelle.

and, finally, thanks to todd edelson, my physical therapist.  according to the orthopedic surgeons, i should have had some serious shoulder surgery by now.  however, with todd's expert interventions, i've been able to stave off the surgery, at least for the time being.  and my shoulder is much stronger and has a lot more range of motion that should allow me to complete this ride.  thank you todd.

now comes the fun part.  "see you" in san francisco with a pre-ride check-in.