T minus 10 days

Wow ten days till the ride starts! It is so surreal... it is almost here!

The flight is booked, the training is done, my bike is here... just a few more logistics to work out.

And in the next 10 days I'm trying to get to $15,000.. why? So I can try to get back into the top 5!! I'm only slightly competitive.... I'm really only ~$700 from that goal. There's a $500 check on its way from the Marlins fundraiser & I've got two $100 dollar pledges to follow-up on. And I've got a few more people to contact who I'm pretty sure will pitch in.

Currently place no 4 is sitting at 14,150... I'm at $13,647... add in my $500-in-the-mail-check & my $200 in pledges & I'm sitting at $14,347... sweet!

And my fabulous friend.. my friend since middle school... who I'm convinced knows half of the world's population... is getting the word out to her crew... And they are passing it along...

So yeah, I plan on rockin the leader board pretty soon... unless of course someone steps up to the plate and out hustles me. Which would be fine cause that just more money for CAF! Bring it on!

In other news, my last long ride went well. I switched up my nutrition strategy and it worked pretty well. I think its the way to go.. 200 to 250 calories in solid food every hour after the first hour..So far that seems to work best for me!

What else?? let's see.. I've confirmed that yes, yes I can transfer from my new bike to my wheelchair. I'm sure the boys that have been training in San Diego make this look simple. And it shouldn't be too hard for a male paraplegic... but women aren't known for their upper body strength... and this is pretty much a full on super deep dip.... (I'll post a few bike pics in a few days.)

And I pulled it off! One potential barrier down! If I can do it once I can do it again... although when I'm doing these transfers in front of an audience they invariably don't work as smoothly.

Ladies, there is nothing that makes me want to lose weight more than trying to do a hard transfer... Guys, when you hear me complain about being heavy, realize if you had to transfer your butt off the ground or crank up a hill... you'd think you'd need to lose weight too!

I have lots more to say & share, but a ton of work to do before I leave next week!