In August of 2010, during a casual phone conversation with my old friend, Dan Peirce, I committed to riding a bicycle across the United States.  I recall the discussion clearly. Dan was talking about all the great adventures we had together during our younger days and I made the following statement, “you know Dan, when you stop creating stories you begin dying.”  Fateful words – seven months later, we are in the last stages of planning this trip. Our departure is scheduled for March 26, 2011.  That is only 7 days from now. 

I am 53 years old.  Although I have cycled since my late 20’s, I’ve not ridden my bike consistently over the past 15 years. In fact, the day I committed to this venture I had not cycled more than 60 miles in a day.  Our goal is to travel from Costa Mesa, California to Savannah, Georgia, a distance of 3000 miles, in about 40 days. Most of my friends think I’m nuts. I think they are likely correct. But with that admission comes the realization that the stories of my life, the stories I cherish the most,  were created from  events and circumstances that were outside of normal convention.  Circumstances that were often the result of me simply saying, “I am going to do this.”  That is how this thing started. Dan and I said, “we are going to do this”.  From my perspective, I didn’t give much thought to the physical challenge of this undertaking, nor to the personal commitment.  This committment includes being away from my work for an extended period. 

So here we go.  Seven months of training (sort of), purchase of a new bicycle and a boatload of great new gear, route planning, weather analysis, and reading a whole lot of internet experiences that shaped our execution plan.  The day of reckoning is fast approaching and I suppose I am getting just a bit excited. In fact, I am excited enough to actually open and set up this blog page – something that I have never done.

I hope to find some time and share some technical information related to our planning and I would like to go through some of the thought processes that brought me to this point.  For now this first posting is a declaration and the final commitment for me.  I have been saying for months that I would start a blog, but I waited until the last moment to actually make the committment and submit this post.  I suppose that is and will remain a familiar theme in my life. 

Here we go.