Day 1: To Banning CA

The beginning of the Journey arrived in grand style.  We left today from LEGOLAND with 3500 MS walkers cheering me on.  Many family and friends came to send us off, which made this event more special.   There was lots of positive energy, all of these folks came together with a single purpose- to help those with MS.  I was impressed and thankful to be part of it all.

For the first 15 miles I was escorted Rick Fultz and Jon Williams to get a great jump start.  Jon did the pulling, breaking the wind to ease my load.  This set me up for a great ride today, I met up with Claire after 40 miles in Old Town Temecula CA for lunch.  To my surprise my cousin, nephews and several friends all went out there to join us with another special send off, including Suzanne's group prayer for safe travels.

I made the first day's goal to Banning CA, about 88 miles in 6 hours and 9 minutes riding time.  There were a couple of long hard climbs through the mountains, and a nice tail wind increasing the speed a little.  Claire was there for me all the way, she's the best supporter I could imagine.  I feel good, and had a nice steak dinner to keep the nutrition up.  Day One was a complete success!!

PS: I had a little technical difficulty with the GPS tracking app (I forgot to turn it back on after my break at 66 miles) so this link to my route is a little short today, but still pretty cool.

Temecula Send Off

The Pacific Ocean Dipping Ceremony

Sunday is the journey's major kickoff at LEGOLAND, but Saturday a small group of family and friends gathered at Moonlight beach in Encinitas for the ceremonious dip of my bike's rear wheel in the Pacific Ocean.  My son in-law and I then rode 8 miles from the beach to LEGOLAND, which is now the first official leg of the trip.  Let the games begin.

Click here for a map of Saturday's's ride.

Family and Friends

Rick and Dave on the First Leg of the Journey

On my training ride yesterday, I met this gentleman who was riding a very unique bike.   Turns out he had an accident with a Toyota that left him with some broken vertebra in his neck and as a result he had this bike customized to allow him to ride upright.  The seat is suspended off the frame in a carbon fiber extension that has some give to it, so he was sort of happily bounding down the road when I caught up to him. It brought a smile to my face, so we rode together for a couple of miles, discuss this whole thing and compared notes on broken backs, etc.  This is one of the most unusual bikes I've seen over the years. It was custom made here in Sothern California.  I wonder what other types of bikes I'll come across on this trip?

 T minus 32 hours to blast off!

Here's a shot of Claire's support vehicle with the sign stuck on the back window. Nice.

Ann Romney Signs Dave's Cycling Jersey

Ann Romney has Multiple Sclerosis and she signed one of my cycling jerseys yesterday in Boston.  I’ve been collecting signatures on my cycling jerseys from people with MS to remind me of why I’m riding.  I'm riding for Ann and all those affected by MS. 

This is not a political statement, the effects of MS effects cross all political boundries.

Ann Romney Signs Dave's Jersey

Dave in Jersey Ready to Ride

Journey is About to Begin

We're in the final week of preparation and all is going well, although a little hectic. The car arrived safely.  The "Cycling Across America" sign is now proudly displayed on the back window for all to see. We even had people coming up to us in parking lots enquiring about the ride. 

We'll be kicking this ride off from LEGOLAND on Sunday, April 22, at 8:00 a.m.  There is an MS Walk taking place and we'll be kicking off both events together.  We'll have 3500 MS walkers and I'll announce the ride, take a ride around LEGOLAND then I'm off!  We even have a west coast contingent walking in the MS walk to support my ride specifically how serendipitous

I've been riding short one or two hour rides every day or two while tapering off  before the start.   Coincidentally my Daughter Julia ran the Boston Marathon yesterday on the MS team there. We're having a good year!





Starting Point April 22, 2012 8:00 a.m.

 



Support Vehicle Rear Window Sign



Bike Prior to Assembly in San Diego

Claire and Dave Arrive in San Diego for Final Preparations

Claire and I arrived in San Diego!  All went well with the final east coast preparations. My final Cape Cod training ride felt good and is the last time I'll be riding these roads until the last day of the journey. 



To the Finish Line at Old Silver Beach





 



Southbound on the Shining Sea Bike Path in Falmouth



The bike was carefully dismantled and packaged for the plane ride.  It arrived safely and was subsequently re-assembled with no issues!!  Claire shed a tear when leaving, she's a little overwhelmed by all of this, and has a little fear for my safety.  The enormity of this really comes out when looking down from the airplane at 35,000 feet to see the landscape rushing by at 500 miles an hour and seeing nothing but wilderness for the majority of the time.







Bike is Boxed and Ready to Fly











On the Threshold

The time is getting close, we're on the threshold of leaving for the California coast next week. The support vehicle was shipped yesterday, by truck, to San Diego. I successfully test packed my bike into the travel box to make sure everything fits and that I have all the correct fittings to protect the bike for its ride with us on the airplane.  I put it all back together and had a couple of rides in the trainer over the past two days. The knee is feeling good, but I'm only doing short rides for now to let it heal. 

We've been in contact with Rich Israel, president of the MS Society's San Diego chapter.  We are discussing the possibility of kicking off the ride in conjunction with an MS Walk at Lego Land, where there will be 3500 walkers for a grand send off, which would be very cool, and help to spread the word. More to follow about this, and if this is possible. All is good.

Dave on Trainer