One week to go

Packing is almost complete and the bicycle is at the shop having a complete overhaul. It should be ready by the end of the day tomorrow so I can take it out for a couple of test rides. My riding partner Sharon has very kindly loaned me her bike case to transport mine to New Orleans for the start of the trip. Thanks, Sharon!

This weekend I had a very good ride on Sunday. While out on the fifty mile ride my cycling partner and I encounter a herd of these, Javilina. Now I have seen Javilina in Arizona before but never a herd of this size. There were a total of 15 Javilina including six babies. It was a lot of fun watching them cross the road into a wash then up on the ridge. For those of you who may not know Javilina are also called Peccary and the Collared Peccary are found in the Southwestern United States all the way to South America. While maybe not the prettiest animals the babies were really cute!

New Bicycle Jersey

My younger daughter, Bridget, and her two sons are here for a week following her Ironman Arizona race last weekend. By the way she did great in very tough conditions, 14:25:16. This morning they said they wanted to give me my Mother's Day present before I started packing for my bicycle trip. They gave me this wonderful bicycle jersey. It is perfect for my trip not only because it shows my home state but because it will be very visible on the road.

I got a couple of rides in this week but nothing very long. One 3 hour ride but that was my longest. For the next couple of weeks before I leave I hope to get in several 3 plus hour rides.

Under Three Weeks

I can't believe that three weeks from today I am in New Orleans. I arrive on May 8th and have two days to meet other members of the group and do a little sight seeing. This will be my first visit to New Orleans since Katrina and I am really curious to see the changes.

My training has been going well and I definitely feel that I am prepared. Yesterday, I got the Garmin Edge 305 for my bicycle. I have the Garmin Forerunner but it takes up to much room on my handlebars. This fits on the stem.

Letters are starting to fly between my fellow travelers. Time is getting close. I plan to do a test packing of my gear this afternoon. Today I stopped by my local bike shop and scheduled my complete over-hall.