The final countdown!!

4 days left until the biggest adventure of my life!!

My 4K training jersey!! (right sleeve says our motto: cycle, inspire, unite)

I've known I was going to do this ride basically since the moment I found out about it, which was last March. That was 15 months ago. I've been looking forward to this for a solid 15 months and I'm suddenly 4 days away from leaving. I can't believe this is actually happening!! Thoughts going through my mind include:

• What in the WORLD was I thinking when I thought this was a good idea??
• *Looks at bike* THIS is going to carry me across the country??
• How will I be without my hair straightener for 70 days??
• Wait....it's gonna be, like, really hot some days....
• Wait... biking in the rain is totally awful...

But mostly, it's:

• Can't wait to have nothing to worry about but riding my bike each day!
• SO EXCITED!!

Since I got home from school I have been very busy and have barely had a moment to relax. My best friend Ellie visited for a few days, and then I babysat for a great family for 8 days while the parents went on vacation to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Babysitting was fun but also provided some challenges! I was glad I got the experience of being totally in charge for a week, and also was glad to do it because it was the only money I'll be making all summer. I've worked full time during the summer since the summer after my sophomore year of high school, so this is the first time in six years that I won't be. Of course I'm not worried as this is going to be an amazing experience. I then spent all of yesterday running around the entirety of Maryland, from getting something sorted out in College Park, to getting my bike a final tune-up in Columbia, to stopping by the 4K office in Baltimore.

Since finishing up the babysitting job, I went on two long bike rides with my mom, who is AWESOME!! The first one we did with her work friend, Shani, who I also went biking with a month or two ago and is mentioned in a past blog post. That was in Cambridge, MD, which was a good 2-hour drive for us, but it was worth it! Shani was practicing the course for the bike portion of the half-Ironman she is doing this coming Sunday, so we decided to tag along. I loved the course. It was on roads so I got to practice road riding, but traffic was very minimal and there was only one 7-mile stretch that had a lot of cars. Shani gave us cue sheets (just like we will have on the ride). I tried my best to keep up with Shani but was usually straggling behind her a bit. My mom, riding her mountain bike, without clip-in pedals, and thus working at least twice as hard as Shani and me, was a total trooper and nearly kept up with us anyway. 

Sidenote on my mom, as Mothers' Day just passed: My mom is awesome and is hardworking in everything she does. She is an amazing athlete and is an inspiration for me. She works out (usually running or swimming) every day and gets very cranky if she can't (I got this from her). She will wake up ridiculously early to get her workout in and it doesn't matter how much she doesn't feel like it at first -- she does it anyway. We make fun of her for drinking so much water, but she's the healthiest person I know and even surprises her doctors with how healthy she is ("I've never seen levels like this on a person;" "You're going to live forever"). She is very strong and routinely shocks the neighbors at her strength (i.e. breaking one of their shovels right in half while trying to plant a tree; snapping tree limbs in half in our yard). Anyone that knows us is probably nodding their heads because this doesn't surprise them. I feel confident in saying I wouldn't have the determination to do this trip if it weren't for her. She's always so supportive of everything I do. Thanks, Mom!!! You're the best!

My mom and I in the Bahamas after totally crushing my uncle and brother in a kayaking race.

Back to our ride, we did 40 miles before getting back to the car, where my mom decided to stop because she was wiped out. We later figured out it was because she didn't eat anything during the ride and realized that's critical to keeping up your energy! Shani and I continued and did another 10 to make 50. It was an awesome ride; perfect weather and I got NO flat tires, woo!!

The next day my mom and I did 43 miles on the BWI trail by doing one loop and then riding to Annapolis and back on the connector trail. It was another great ride, except for the numerous families that were out (Memorial Day) and a minor fall on my part. Yeah...I guess I still haven't mastered the clip-in pedals. I was just casually standing at a light waiting to cross, with one foot clipped out as I normally do. I guess I shifted my center of gravity too far to the right because I just randomly tipped over to the right (the side I was still clipped in on). Couldn't do much about it since I was still clipped in on that side and just went down. Tons of cars saw but whatevs!! I got cut by my pedal on my left leg, and scraped by the road on my right leg. Also landed on my wrist which has been hurting a bit, but nothing major. This happened only about 5 miles into the ride and we continued along with my battle scars. We stopped for fro yo in the middle of the ride, and as it was a trail we took a more leisurely pace and were able to ride next to each other and chat much of the time. Was great to spend time with mom before leaving :).

My plans for the next few days are crazy. It hit me that I have so much to do and so little time! There are many people I wanted to see before I leave that I'm just not going to get the chance to. My room is an absolute disaster zone since I never got the chance to unpack from school. I would post a picture but it's really so bad that I'm too embarrassed to do that. I have to sort through that, then pack! I've made my packing list, with help from my mentor, and it's.... interesting. I kind of have two separate lists... a "bare essentials" packing list, based off of what my mentor gave me, and then an "ideal" packing list.... to which I added many other things. I'm hanging onto my "ideal" packing list, and if I have to be dragged away from it, it will be screaming and crying, I assure you. My mentor's packing list is full of things such as "I PROMISE YOU WON'T NEED MORE THAN X PAIRS OF Y!!!! TRUST ME!" Do I believe her? Yes, I 100% do. But it's still hard to accept!! For example, the only non-biking attire that is recommended to bring is 4 T-shirts and 1 dress. That seems crazy for 70 days! I do believe it. But I am a notorious overpacker. Just ask my brother, the one that usually carries my bag on family vacations :) In all seriousness, though, I'm going to pack the bare essentials, then look at how much room I have, then fit in a couple extra things, then stare at my suitcase for a while and try to convince myself to take them out. We will see how it goes. :)

Speaking of my mentor.... Thank you to my mentor, Sarah Eddy, for her enthusiasm and help in preparing me for this ride! Sarah did the Portland ride last year. We were assigned to each other by 4K, and she has been an invaluable resource that I can email or call with any questions I might have. She is SO excited for me and always says it was the most unforgettable summer ever, and that makes me more excited. She will be riding with us on Day 1, along with other alumni!

My mentor and I!! <3

My plans for the rest of the week are spending time with family & friends, cleaning my room, and packing! I expect several frantic trips to Target/Rite Aid for last-minute things I forgot. I'm babysitting tonight and then tomorrow I'm going for a ride with my dad around Bel Air. My dad is really into cycling but doesn't go out on the roads all that much because there aren't too many good places to ride around here. He routinely spends 3 hours biking on his stationary bike in the basement (while watching a movie at a deafening volume heard for miles) then comes up looking he just took a bath). Also, today and tomorrow are the National Spelling Bee (the only TV event I get really excited for) and I don't think I'm going to have time to watch it!! Sad day.

Although we leave Sunday, the adventure really starts Friday night. Friday we have a Tribute Dinner, where I will meet my team! I also have two of my team members, Jared and Tom, staying at my house from Friday-Sunday because they are from out of state! Saturday, all day, we have a training day in Baltimore where we'll do a ride, team building exercises, and go over 4K policies. Anyone old enough to drive the vans (21+) will also do van training. Then Sunday, we have to be in Baltimore at 5:30 am. The Send-off ceremony begins at 7 am and we are scheduled to roll out of the Inner Harbor at 8:05. Thank you everyone for your continued support!! :)

Gear

So, confession time: I'm a bit of a princess when it comes to sleeping. I'm a very light and sensitive sleeper and I've never been one to be able to fall asleep just anywhere. Considering we'll be spending 80 or 90% of our nights sleeping on the floor, this could be a problem! 

I also recently received my 4K Duffel bag which is super exciting! Everyone gets the same one. We are allowed that duffel bag and a backpack, and everything we need for 70 days needs to fit in that space, and that includes my sleeping gear. So, no Memory Foam mattresses or mounds of blankets for me. I know my backpack will be taken up by my laptop and some books, so I'm not counting on fitting any clothes in my backpack. 

My duffel bag! I have to fit everything I need for 70 days in here.

As you can see, I got my name embroidered onto my bag! It was a great choice.. I chose the font and the color and I love it. It will be great to easily distinguish my bag from the 25 other bags we will have in the vans. The lady that did it for me is a mom that works out of her home just 2 neighborhoods over from me. Crabby Me Embroidery - I highly recommend her, she finished this for me in less than 24 hours and it was very affordable!

So I spent a lot of time shopping around, reading reviews, and making countless trips to REI, etc. looking for the perfect sleeping gear that is compressible but at the same time will make me as comfortable as possible. Here's what I got!

Me being dorky with all my gear set up.

All of my gear lined up next to each other (with remote for size comparison ;) From left to right: pillow with pillowcase and sleeping mask on top, sleeping bag liner, sleeping bag, sleeping pad.

1. Sleeping pad
This is recommended as a little cushion between you and the floor. I went to REI and physically tested out a few:

Physically testing out some sleeping pads at REI

then read a bunch of reviews online. I couldn't decide between two of them so I ordered both and when they arrived I actually camped out on the floor of my apartment for two nights testing them both out (shh, don't tell REI), then returned the one I didn't want. The pad I went with is a "self-inflating" pad called the Exped SynMat 7 . It inflates with air and puts you 2.8 inches off the ground, so you don't feel any ground at all. I went with medium wide, which means it has an extra 6 inches of width. I like this because it means I have a little room to move before I fall off. It has 5-star reviews on REI.com and it is indeed awesome. I used it camping in West Virginia a couple weeks ago and it was great; I slept through the whole night with no soreness in the morning and it really felt like I was sleeping on a bed! It also insulated me from the cold ground.

The mat by itself

The inflation process is simple. I definitely wanted a pad that inflates rather than just being a foamy material, but I didn't want to blow it up every night. So to inflate this one you use two hands to push air into it through a little built-in air channel. It takes about 3 minutes to inflate and about 1 minute to deflate. It rolls up to a tiny 5x11 inch cylinder which barely takes up any space in my bag!

2. Sleeping bag
I also went to REI and looked at some of these:

Sleeping bag shopping

I learned that there are tons of options for sleeping bags, but most of them have very low temperature ratings and can keep you warm down to temperatures below zero. Since we will be sleeping inside every night and it will be summer, I really don't need that. So I went with the warmest bag REI has, which is a 55-degree bag. 

This temperature rating is pushing it, as I should probably be prepared for temperatures as low as 40, in case we do end up camping (we do carry tents and we will camp if all our host arrangements fall through). So I decided to get a sleeping bag liner as well, which I'll explain next. The sleeping bag I got is really light and comfortable but also warm. It also compresses down to a small stuff sack (6x11 inches) and was a very affordable price.

Posing with my sleeping bag....whose sweet bike is that in the background??

3. Sleeping bag liner
I decided to get this because I don't like the nylon feeling of the inside of sleeping bags. The more I can get my sleeping arrangements to feel like home, the better! Sleeping bag liners serve this purpose as well as keeping you warmer. It's basically a cotton sheet sewn into the shape of a sleeping bag. They add 10 degrees to the temperature rating of the sleeping bag, meaning I should be ok down to 45 degrees, and if it's colder than that I am prepared for that as well (see later). Also, on hotter nights I can just use the liner and then use my sleeping bag as more of a blanket if I want. Here's the one I got:  Cocoon TravelSheet

4. Pillow
For the pillow I had a few options. I could bring my regular pillow, but I decided I would rather not because that was too big. The options for smaller pillows include compressible pillows and blow-up pillows, but I didn't really like either of those because they didn't feel soft enough. Again, the more it fels like home, the better. So I went with the REI Base Camp Pillow, which is just a small regular pillow. It still compresses fairly small and it's also way cheaper than the other options. I also ordered a pillow case for it on Amazon.

5. Other random accessories
-Sleeping mask (lifesaver for me)
-Earplugs (VERY necessary, in a group of 26 kids we are bound to have a few snorers)
-Sleeping bag warmers - these are like the hand warmers or feet warmers you can buy at sports stores, except bigger, and you just put one in your sleeping bag for extra warmth!
-These awesome buddies:

These are called Go Toobs, found at REI and Amazon, and they are little containers for toiletries. They supposedly never leak, and are very flexible to squeeze out the last bit of your stuff. The awesome thing is that they have suction cups on them! This is great because I'm going to be showering in ~60 different showers this summer. We all know that not all showers have handy little shelves to put your containers on, which sometimes means you have to put them on a nasty floor. These suction cups will allow me to attach my stuff to the walls :) I'm super excited for these. I got a bunch so that I can put all of my various hair products in small containers that won't leak, although the bigger ones don't have suction cups. I'm going to bring larger containers of shampoo, soap, etc that have screw tops so they don't leak, and then just refill these.

So that's it! I finished my semester on the 13th and have been home since then. My best friend Ellie was visiting until yesterday, and now I am babysitting for the next week. My training definitely suffered during finals week and now that I'm home I don't have access to spin class or spin bikes as I don't belong to a gym. I'm just going to be going out biking on shorter, faster rides, and running, and I'm going to get in one more long ride before we leave. 

Fundraising has been great: My current total is $7,318!! A HUGE thank you to everyone that has donated and otherwise supported me :)

I also got my hair cut yesterday, which was a big deal for me!! I got 6 inches cut off and I haven't had it this short in literally 5 years! I was really nervous to cut it, but I knew the shorter I cut it now, the more I would thank myself for it later on this summer. There was no way I was going to deal with all that hair when I'm going to be on a bike for 70 days. My new look definitely going to take a while to get used to but I do actually like it!!

New hair!

2 weeks until send off weekend!!! 2 weeks from today I will be in Baltimore doing Training Day, and the next day at 8 am we will be off on this incredible journey! I'm super excited and nervous!

Official route

Things I'm looking forward to & things I'm not so much looking forward to

29 days until the ride!!! Ahhh! I am both excited and terrified.

Things I'm not so excited for:

• Deciding what to pack and what not to pack
• The fact that 5 finals stand between me and the trip
• Leaving 95% of my wardrobe behind (girl problems)
• Fitting everything I need into my 4K duffel bag
• Being away from my family and friends for 10 weeks
• Getting used to biking next to cars
• TAN LINES
• Sleeping on the floor
• Waking up before the sun
• Very hot or rainy days

Things I'm super excited for:

• Taking pictures like this:

and this:

• Having water gun fights
• Being outside and enjoying nature all day every day
• Tackling a new adventure every single day
• Meeting and growing close with my teammates
• Fighting cancer together & being an inspiration
• Becoming better at biking
• Having no worries other than getting from Point A to Point B
• Going to Cedar Point with the team
• Celebrating my 21st birthday in Boise, Idaho
• Jam sessions with the other musicians on my ride
• Learning how to do some cool new things (I'm hoping splits, a really good handstand and maybe playing the guitar)
• My first century ride
• TAN LINES
• Securing our remaining hosts before the ride starts
• Setting up lots of cool things for us to do along our way
• Meeting nice and interesting people along the way
• Seeing the country!

I can't wait!! Bring on June 2nd! :) :)