Day 0

I've spent the past two days in Los Angeles with Samantha and Jesse, mostly with Sammy as she's out of school at the moment and Jesse doesn't get off from work until after six something each night.

welcome to la la land

We've toured Santa Monica, eaten our way through the bounty of California cooking [super healthy California cuisine at True Food Kitchen, chai lattes from a guy in a Seton Hall t-shirt on Main Street

Venice Beach, Mexican food at Border Grill in Santa Monica served up from the duo that made themselves famous on the Food Network years ago as "Two Hot Tamales;" knocked back designer pizzas at Pitfire and scarfed down some of the best pancakes -- and the most gi-normous ones at that! -- at Griddle over on Sunset in West Hollywood that I've ever tasted], seen a great

Kubrick exhibit and the "Levitating Mass" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and climbed up into the canyons just beyond Griffith Observatory, just to get close to the "Hollywood" sign.

These past two days have been great, both to see two of my kids as well as to take my mind off of the anticipation of starting the ride.  This morning, in a kind of "changing of the guard" ceremony, Jesse drove me to LAX for my flight up here to San Francisco.  He then drove to Sammy's place where he took a short nap with Sam before heading back over to LAX to pick up Lori and Halle who flew in an hour after I took off for a few days of visiting.

Getting to the check in hotel here in Burlingame, just south of San Francisco, I got a nice surprise.  Steve, one of the guys I rode with up the Mississippi last year, is on this ride.  It'll be good to see a familiar face.  Well...two, that is.  Andy, the bike mechanic from last year's Mississippi ride is also on this Cross Country adventure, so it'll be doubly good to have him again in case of any mechanical emergencies.  Andy was not only incredibly proficient with anything I or any other rider needed last year, but he's just generally an all-around nice guy, so he's good fun to be with as well.

There are, I think, 18 riders heading out tomorrow morning.  Along the way, some riders like me will drop off and other will join the ride.  At one point, there will be upwards of 25 riders during a couple of segments.

The riders are from all around the country.  At orientation tonight, I heard Seattle, Charlotte, Buffalo, Boston, Austin, Columbus, Chicago, two Duluth's and two Brooklyn's, and one Flemington, NJ mentioned.  Yeah, that's not 18, but I didn't recall the rest.  There's also a young woman from Surry, England who's here on a gap year and wanted to see the States, so she's riding across them to do it.  Also a father and son duo from Winter Park, Colorado  Some veterans of past rides.  Many newbies.  Also a much wider range of ages than last year.  Folks in their teens on up to their 60's.  And four woman in addition to two on the crew.

We're heading over the Golden Gate bridge in the morning, after the ritual dipping our back tires into the Pacific Ocean.  Then around the Bay through Sausalito, Larkspur and San Rafael until we get to Vallejo where we'll spend the first night.  Seven-two miles.  Not a bad first day.  Plus some good climbs into San Francisco proper [including up Balboa].