One week to go!

In just one week I’ll be meeting the rest of the Ride:Well South team and the Pacific team in San Diego. I can’t believe how fast the tour is approaching! Friday is my last day at work until the end of July and this weekend I’ll spend making final preparations to leave. Wild!

People keep asking me how I feel and I really don’t know what to say. I go from excited to nervous and back again during the course of a conversation. I am excited to meet the team, see the country, promote Blood:Water Mission, ride my bike and get out of DC for a couple of months. On the flip side, I’m a bit anxious about being away from home and living out of a suitcase for so long! Surprisingly, I’m not nervous about the actual cycling part. It’s the heat that I’m more worried about…which is why I’ve been praying for a mild summer!

Another question I get is if I am ready for this? My response: as ready as I’m going to be. Sure, I could be in better shape, but I’m leaps and bounds ahead of where I was when I began training and I know I’ll keep improving throughout the summer. Mentally, I know it is going to be hard. I will probably want to give up when it’s too hot or too rainy or I’m just tired of being on my bike. I think that’s where the most memorable parts will come from though, the times I have to push through discomfort and focus on the purpose of the ride: our friends in Africa who do not have access to clean water.

So, to both Ride:Well teams … see you in California! To my friends and family … thanks for your support and encouragement, I literally could not be doing this without
you!