Have you ever felt that time is creeping by one day and racing past the next? That is exactly how I feel concerning this trip.

In order to gain a bit of time we have moved our departure up from Sunday the 11th to Saturday the 10th. We will still be able to leave Portland on the weekend when there is less traffic. The downside to this is that we are unable to leave home before Thursday morning. We will have plenty of time to drive to Portland, but will not have time to hang out and enjoy the city. I wanted to stay at the hostel downtown. Now that we probably won't have time to explore, we might as well stay out by the airport on Marine Drive for the convenient location. We discussed moving our departure up as much as a week, but decided not to as we will be on the edge of the rainy season as it is while riding the coast. We are also a bit early for riding around Crater Lake. Summer 2005 the Crater Lake road opened on June 24th. Our estimated schedule puts us there on June 21st. We'll just have to see if we get to circumvent the lake as planned. They've had a heavy snow season this year, it doesn't look too promising for us.

At this point we have one couple firmly committed to joining us. Ann and Don are diamond frame riders pulling trailers. They are in their 50's and live in Denver. Interestingly enough Ann is also the dedicated cyclist with Don just getting into the sport. I have one other fellow 90% committed to going. Bill rides a Gold Rush recumbent and is from Michigan. I haven't heard from him lately.

Jacinto and I started a friendly mileage contest on January 1st. Except he's a fair weather rider and hasn't been on the bike much. I have probably 1,500 miles on him! Jacinto is the type who doesn't bother riding unless he has a chance to go 50 miles. My minimum mileage is 10 miles. It's amazing how 10 miles here and 10 miles there can add up! Lately, while training for this trip I have been riding 25-30 miles a day 5 days a week. I have done some longer rides. Two 50 mile rides, two 60 mile rides, and one at 80 miles. This Saturday I rode 100 miles! Yea! I haven't done a century ride since 1999. Something about all of those zeros intimidates the heck out of me. I felt great when I did the 80 mile ride and was chomping at the bit waiting for an opportunity for a century. Finally both my schedule and the weather cooperated. I couldn't have asked for a better day. The weather was sunny and the wind mostly calm. It was probably in low to mid 60's, my favorite cycling weather. I wore one long layer. I wasn't too hot or two cold. I didn't have to worry about getting a sunburn. I rode loop do loop's up and down the valley until I reached that magic triple digit number. I'd like to do another century in a few weeks - just because I can!

I have been using the Garmin GPS over the past month. I feel it's helped me with my mountain climbing. I've been seeking out climbs just to watch the little line go up. : ) On my 100 mile ride I had 3,250 feet of climbing when the battery died at 95 miles. The battery life is going to be a problem on our trip. I plan to leave my faithful Sigma computer on the bike as backup.

I have continued to lose weight. I'm down to 192. I was at 219 when I finished the Lewis and Clark last summer. It's like I'll be able to pull the trailer for free! I can certainly tell a performance difference with all of the weight lost. My original goal was to weigh 190 when we depart in June. Now I am hoping to reach 185. Cross your fingers for me. Those long, long bicycling miles really seem to burn the fat off.

I'm sure June will be here before I know it. But time seems to pass SO slowly!