7 Days to Go..

The SR-71 at Hazy Center - near Dulles Airport


And the Concorde


Sunrise this morning at the island

Well friends, it’s been a busy week of riding and bike preparations for next Saturday’s first 200k brevet. This morning I enjoyed a lovely 48 mile sunrise ride to the island. I broke my personal best for the 18 miles by over a minute! 57.10 for the 18 miles was a wonderful time. I then enjoyed some loops there before heading home. I was thinking as I was riding that it is possible that I am not in sufficient condition for the big ride and that I hadn’t done much conditioning. Funny, I have 9 rides of over 40 miles this year. It’s been the best spring conditioning season ever, and still I am concerned.

In the bike preparation department, I replaced the front tire as the old one was showing a lot of wear and had some minor damage to the sidewalls, and having a tire fail 30 miles from nowhere is not something I want to endure. I also purchased a new Crank Bros. tool that has a lot more usable tools.

I have been going over the bike; mechanically, equipment, water, storage, and all the little things I think I need, but don’t have room to take. I literally stripped down the bike and started from scratch. Do I have tubes? patches? tools? room for my camera? The list goes on and on. Looking at the route, it is definitely a “get away from it all” route. The towns on the route are very small and well spread apart. The middle 40+ miles of the brevet will be without any type of services, so I will carry a little bit of everything, especially lots of snacks!

In the MS-150 department, I want to thank the following friends: Ted, Mary Ann, Pilar, Patsy, Gary and Madeline, Becky, and Dean for their thoughtful contributions to the fight against MS, and for showing support of my efforts on the MS-150 in three weeks. You folks are the best! There is still plenty of time for you to get on board and send your contribution too. If you need more information, drop me a comment and I will get in touch with you.

And lastly, please enjoy a few travelogue pictures from our April trip to Virginia and Washington DC. I will put some Chicago pics in the next post.

Happy riding.

Jim


Mr. Lincoln is an amazing figure.


Trivia Time: Anyone recognize him?