It's "Go-Time"...

Some men are born mad.  Others have madness thrust upon them.  The World Bicycle Relief "Bring the PAIN" Tour officially launches tomorrow morning.  There hasn't been a whole lot of build-up to the launch of this tour.  It's not like last year, where nervous energy and the uncertainty of whether I'd make it in time kept me focused on the task at hand.  This year I got really busy with work for the ~6 weeks prior to launch date, and I really didn't have much time at all to focus on fundraising or preparation.  No prep I can deal with - that's more or less how I roll anyway.  I'd have like to have been a little more "on it" on the fundraising side, but as of right now we've raised 30 bikes for WBR.  Not exactly my original goal, or my amended goal even - but still not a bad effort.  I thank each and every one of you who donated money, who forwarded my fundraising efforts on to others, and who have supported me in general.  WBR is such a fantastic organization and the work they do is really incredible - I feel very fortunate to be able to help in some small capacity.

My bike still needs a little tuning and if I'm smart I'll replace the rear tyre (that has some 8000+ km on it - mostly from my last tour) before I take off.  I need to weigh everything out and load balance my panniers.  I need to find the remaining bits of my repair kit that got strewn around in the year since I came back, and double check with Ed to see if my new rear light came in yet.  I need to pack some food.  But those are all minor details.  In 3 days I'll be in Penticton where I can easily purchase any forgotten items or attend to other related issues.

I've got my GPS Tracker up and running again, so you can see in "near time" where I am (and how slowly I'm moving).  Luckily I'll be turning North at Osoyoos this time - so instead of that soul-sucking death slog up Ho Chi Minh trail Anarchist Pass I'll be enjoying ice cream at Tickleberry's and loving life in Okanagan Falls on my way to Penticton.  :D  Between that and the sausage rolls at the Crowsnest Bakery in Keremeos, I might be tempted to just do laps between Penticton and Princeton the entire time.  I'm quite certain, however, that the siren song of Jasper and the Icefields Parkway will lure me further North.

Okay - enough dilly-dallying.  The next blog update will be from the road, where I hope my first day of travel will go as well as it did last year and my second nothing like last year!


The full route is outlined here: http://tinyurl.com/3sttoyw

Track my progress here: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ghCxT3Q7TUZ6zp6xX2Itq0qftjbyJ1SJ

And most importantly, donate here!: http://grassroots.kintera.org/active/khai