This is it….!

Just got back from registration–I have my wristbands and my gear bag/tent markers, and I’m ready to go! I am now officially Rider #1918 of AIDS Lifecycle 5. (And to prove it, I have a giant “1918” across the top bar of my bike, and a big “1918” sticker on my helmet.) I even got a fleece vest for raising over $3500!

I am strangely calm. All the months of training, all the weeks of frantic sewing, all the days of frenzied packing are over, and tomorrow morning we leave. I have done all my advance planning and it tells me we are finished. So this afternoon is leisure time, no frantic urgency to it. It seems so odd to have free time after the last several weeks of sewing every minute, especially since tomorrow will be so busy.

But there we are. I’m done, I’ve packed everything (including a Golding ring spindle, some silk, 3 small balls of angora yarn, and knitting needles–just in case I get disabled for a day), every possible happenstance is prepared for, and now it’s just a question of waiting.

Once again, you can follow our progress from San Francisco to LA by going to http://experience.aidslifecycle.org, which contains photos and blogs of the event–and there will definitely be photos of me! And you can leave me messages of support there, too. (I will read them!)

I keep having to suppress the silly urge to start singing,

585 miles left to LA,
585 miles to go,
Pedal down, spin it around,
584 miles left to LA!

On to LA!

Tien