For those who don’t know, I am about to embark on a 9-day journey from San Francisco to San Diego, biking and camping the whole way. I will be joined by my bro-in-law Evan on bike, and my pa-in-law Dennis in the support car.

It is an unorganized tour, in that we just planned the whole thing ourselves. We’re not riding for a cause (although we’re open to that if someone needs some press for their cause), and we’re not riding with a formal group. It’s just two dudes and one dad making our way down the California coastline, seeing the sights in one of the most intimate ways possible.

We’ll be averaging about 65-70 miles a day, with a century ride (104 miles) the final day. We finish up at my house in San Diego on July 3rd, just in time for some grilling and fireworks. And I personally couldn’t be happier that the 5th is a work holiday, because I will need a day to soak in this adventure before I tie myself back up to a desk.

I’ll update basic stats on this blog, and maybe Facebook each day if I have an Internet connection. I probably won’t be posting route maps since I’ll be saving my iPhone juice for tunes, pics, and posting, but if you just look at Google maps, search on Hwy 1, CA, you’ll get the gist.

I have been training a little for this, but not as much as I had hoped. Hard to create time for that when your first child shows up 4 weeks before the trip, but I’m certainly not complaining. I’ll miss the little poo-factory every day, and will use him as motivation whenever I’m feeling gassed. This trip was planned before he was conceived, and if it were just me I probably would’ve postponed it. But all parties (including Sarah) insisted I still go, so I am. But once it’s over, my boy gets more time.

Anyways, training… in the 3 weekends since Kyan’s birth, I completed 25, 51, and 73 mile rides, with smaller hill climbing rides in between. I’m not fully ready for something like Big Sur, or even Daly City, but I don’t consider walking to be cheating. So if I have to get off and walk to get up some of the hills, that’s exactly what I’ll do! We have 14+ hours of daylight each day to get from point A to point B, so my #1 focus will be on making sure I have enough in the tank for the next day.

So there it is – time until launch is 4 days. My bike is getting tuned up as I write, and I’ll be leaving for Clovis to meet Sarah’s Dad on Thursday, and then SF early Friday to kick it off. Wish me luck!

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