Monday, June 17 - We're off!

First week down, and onto the next!

We met Monday morning at 7am in the parking lot for a farewell by the president of The American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific.  We presented a check for the amount that has been raised thus far as a group.

I'm still trying to raise more while the ride is occurring, so please, if you can, please donate!  There is a link to my donation site at the top right of this blog, just under the header!  

Here are the women of the Big Ride, ready to hit the road!

We passed by Snoqualmie Falls, and then biked up Snoqualmie Pass, a beautiful tree-shaded 7 mile climb that was a lot nicer than I-90!

There was a picnic lunch waiting for us at the falls when we arrived.

The Summit at Snoqualmie.  (I've seen a lot better mountain summits in my day.)

Sorry for the sporadic updates.  As you can imagine, time is very structured (and limited!) though I promise to update as often as I possibly can.  Thanks for all the support!

Seattle, Day 2

First, Happy Father's Day, Dad!

And also a Happy Father's Day to Carroll!  Tomorrow you start another round of chemo, and my thoughts are with you.

The weather in Seattle was great today!  Grabbed some breakfast...

... and then I went to a section of Seattle called Ballard and visited the most amazing farmer's market!

I spent a couple of hours walking around and doing a little shopping before heading back to Seattle Pacific for the rider orientation meeting.  The group I'm traveling with is a wonderful bunch of young people.  I can't help but feel like I'm on Survivor... when do I get kicked off?

Decided to take my bike for a test ride.  Finding a pair of bike shorts was a bit of a chore...

But it was worth it.  Bike is perfect in every way!

It's 7pm and I'm in for the night.  Ride starts bright and early tomorrow.  We have to have our bags on the truck by 6am.

I'm ready to roll!

First stop, Seattle!

This morning, I left the DC Airport on Alaska Airlines (thanks for the miles, Dad!) headed to Seattle and was happy to find the weather here in the Pacific Northwest is beautifully cool and dry.  I met up with Melanie and headed to Speedy Reedy bike shop to pick up our bikes that we shipped ahead of time.  The shop really did a great job in assembling my bike once it arrived and getting it prepared for me to pick up and take it on the upcoming journey.  While I was there I picked up a new front light for my bike.

For the next two days, this is the dorm room I'm staying in.

Already having some luggage issues... one of my bags already is having a problem with the wheels on it, and both bags are over the weight limit set for the ride, each by 10lbs.  Looks like I'll have some problem solving ahead of me.

Seattle is a really great city.  It's beautiful, and its full of young, energetic people who are biking and running all over.  Now that I've got my belongings in my room, I'm going to head to this great juice bar I found, which will hold me over till dinner!

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Just had a great steak dinner with Kim's sister Linda.  It's still light out, but its lights out for me, snuggled up in Dad's sleeping bag.  Another busy day tomorrow!

The journey begins!

Off to Seattle!  How am I supposed to maneuver all this luggage for seven weeks...?

Even Winston came along to see me off.  Sorry, little guy.  You stay with Dad!

Last Training Ride!

Went on one last training ride with my good friend and ride buddy Kim today, about 46 miles here in Northern Virginia.  Last week, my husband and I spent the entire week cycling with Trek in Boulder, Colorado.  I'm as ready as I'll ever be to tackle the next 3300 miles head on!

Pre-Ride Packing

Almost completely packed.  Just a few last things to fit into my already jam packed bags and it's off to Seattle bright and early tomorrow morning!

American Lung Association Big Ride Across America 2013

Big Ride Across America 2013 Itinerary

Day	Destination	Arrival	Depart	Mile
0	Seattle WA	16-June	17-June
1	Easton WA	17-June	18-June	91
2	Vantage WA	18-June	19-June	72
3	Odessa WA	19-June	20-June	83
4	Spokane WA	20-June	22-June	77
5*	Spokane WA
6	Sandpoint ID	22-June	23-June	76
7	Thompson Falls MT	23-June	24-June	88
8	Missoula MT	24-June	26-June	101
9*	Missoula MT
10	Avon MT	26-June	27-June	99
11	Townsend MT	27-June	28-June	61
12	Harlowton MT	28-June	29-June	101
13	Billings MT	29-June	1-July	92
14*	Billings MT
15	Hardin MT	1-July	2-July	56
16	Sheridan WY	2-July	3-July	85
17	Gillette WY	3-July	4-July	112
18	Newcastle WY	4-July	5-July	76
19	Rapid City SD	5-July	7-July	81
20*	Rapid City SD
21	Kadoka SD	7-July	8-July	102
22	Pierre SD	8-July	9-July	96
23	Miller SD	9-July	10-July	73
24	De Smet SD	10-July	11-July	77
25	Tyler MN	11-July	12-July	78
26	New Ulm MN	12-July	14-July	87
27*	New Ulm MN
28	Owatonna MN	14-July	15-July	72
29	Winona MN	15-July	16-July	90
30	Viroqua WI	16-July	17-July	66
31	Madison WI	17-July	19-July	100
32*	Madison WI
33	Belvidere IL	19-July	20-July	94
34	Morris IL	20-July	21-July	106
35	Valparaiso IN	21-July	22-July	84
36	Kendallville IN	22-July	23-July	109
37	Napoleon OH	23-July	24-July	70
38	Sandusky OH	24-July	26-July	90
39*	Sandusky OH
40	Burton OH	26-July	27-July	92
41	New Waterford OH	27-July	28-July	59
42	Washington PA	28-July	29-July	62
43	Confluence PA	29-July	30-July	88
44	Bedford PA	30-July	31-Jul	81
45	Gettysburg PA	31-Jul	2-Aug	100
46*	Gettysburg PA
47	Poolesville MD	2-Aug	3-Aug	60
48	Washington DC	3-Aug		42
* Indicates Rest Days/Locations