Well, I think I'm ready to go to Portland on this nutty bike ride. I've packed my gear, Gu, and extra Cytomax powder in little baggies. My bike is lubed and tires pumped up. All that's left is to ride the damn ride.

Bruce and his wife will be picking me up at 4:30am tomorrow. We're driving over to our friend Kellie's, who lives near the start line, where we will meet Clint. Kellie has promised to make us a nice high carb breakfast. With any luck, we'll get to the starting line at the University of Washington and be ready to leave by around 5:30am.

Clint, Bruce, and I will be riding. Kellie wimped out this year, but she agreed to drive support for us, carrying our bags and meeting us along the way in case we need anything. We're staying in Kelso the first night, 150 miles into the ride. This is well past the Centrailia mid point (100 miles); the strategy is to go as far as possible the first day and then have an easier second day. My longest ride is 70 miles so far, so 150 is a significant step up. Fortunately, this route is much flatter than the 70 I did, so it should be a little more straightforward. (Our friend and co-worker Todd is also riding STP this year, but he's doing the whole ride in a single day and then coming back the next day - the PTS. What's more, he and a buddy are doing this on a tandem bike. Whacky.)

Anyway, guess I should get some sleep. I'll have a little camera with me and my laptop in Kellie's car. I hope to blog in Kelso and Portland.

See you on the other side.