Today marks one week until the beginning of our ride.  There has been a lot of necessary prep work for the trip.  Equipment had to be purchased (i.e. bikes, helmets, tires, cycling shoes and shorts), the route mapped out, meal planning, hotel reservations, and of course, updates for the website.  We thank the Lord that things have been coming together.

Even though we have a map of our overall route, we are still working out the exact distance to be traveled each day.  Our most challenging days (on paper) appear to be days three through five, where we will take on the Appalachian mountains and the hills of Virginia. Thankfully, our house in Syracuse is located at the top of a hill, so anywhere we go, we get practice riding hills.

Since we’re only a week away from the start, we’re beginning to taper (reducing the amount of miles ridden) in order to be adequately rested for the actual trip.  This last weekend we completed a 60 mile ride, but now we are focusing more on cross training by lifting weights and running.  It’s hard to believe a week from today we’ll be out on the road for real and starting on our journey.