Hello all,

Tomorrow we begin the ride in earnest. I have been in LA since Wednesday but didn’t meet most of the riders until today. Again we have 3 gentlemen from Great Britain and another gentleman from Australia. The rest are from the states with 2 couples. Randy lives in Springfield, Illinois which is the closest in proximity to me.

Everyone seems fit and raring to go. Quite a bit of touring, racing and triathlon experience is exhibited by the group.

I had my flag put on the bike yesterday after a short ride to the beach. I have done a lot of walking but very little cycling but all of that changes tomorrow.

Orientation today was much as I remembered two years ago. Tracy asked me to demonstrate the proper 3ay to mount a bike when you have a flag attached. It is tricky in that most of us swing our leg over the part that is now occupied by a flag. I of course did it the wrong way and also couldn’t locate the brake releaser on my bike. I actually had not taken off the wheels yet.

I can tell this will be a very fun group, smaller than the last and more laid back but a lot of interesting people and backgrounds. In the coming weeks, I hope to document many of them and supply some pictures.

You can tell that some have a degree of trepidation about what to expect and concerns over unfamiliar terrain , weather, what to wear, eat, drink etc. Good questions and it is best to be prepared  but also have to take it one day at a time.

Tomorrow we leave for the beach and take photos and then it is off to Riverside Ca. Funny but the route is not at all familiar to me although I have ridden it once before. WE had our first of many dinners together and everyone headed to their rooms to prepare for the next days ride.

On a ride like this and with a weight limit in our bags of 30 total pounds, organization is key. Getting into a routine is a must otherwise you wind up packing, unpacking and repacking multiple times. The more systemic you become, the more you have time to do other things.

I have a few photos but will probably post them tomorrow.

The adventure begins.