Last post before the ride

I ride the Tour of Courage tomorrow so this will be my last post on preparation.

On Friday, I had my last pre-ride appointment with Glenn. He took it light and gave me a hip adjustment just to make sure everything is aligned. I was going to get on my bike for half an hour but it didn't happen. I'm not too worried about missing the day since I have been more focussed on making sure I have enough energy and water stored. On that note, I have been eating a lot of high carb food and drinking a lot of water over the last couple of days. More pasta for dinner tonight.

I picked up my ride kit from the BC Cancer Foundation today. I'll be riding as number 9 and the number sqaure is red. All 90 km riders get red numbers but there is some significance to the colour. In the Tour de France, the most aggressive rider from the previous day's stage wears a red number instead of white. Number 9 also has some significance. Each team riding in the Tour de France has 9 riders at the start. Lance Armstrong's teams (US Postal Service then Discovery Channel) had numbers 1 through 9 for 6 of his 7 wins. Lance would wear number 1 as the previous year's winner. His teammates would wear numbers 2 through 9. So, I can pretend to be one of Lance's domestiques tomorrow.

I tuned my bike tonight and took it for a quick spin to make sure everything works. Everything is packed and ready to go. Tomorrow, I will arrive at UBC at around 8:30 and lock up my bike. I was able to get Jordi into the breakfast with Elena and I and that runs from about 9:00 to 9:45. Lance will be there for the breakfast with all of us who managed to raised $5000. After breakfast, Lance gives all the riders a pep talk at around 10:00 then we start to ride at 10:30.

The organizers expect the first of the riders to return around 12:30. I doubt I'll be in that group. But, if I can hook up with a few riders who are going at a good clip, I can draft with them for part of the way and save some energy. That means I can go faster. Who knows - maybe I can come in under 3 hours.

At the finish line, there will be a barbeque and entertainment for all ages. I'm sure it will be pleasant having a couple hundred stinky and sweaty cyclists hanging out with their families.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me. I have had a lot of fun, despite the pain, getting ready for this ride. I hope I get a chance to do something like this again.