Bags are packed and ready to go!

Tomorrow is the big day! Well, one of many big days ahead, I am sure. I fly out to Oceanside tomorrow where I will meet the other members of the team I am crewing with. Actually, there are 3 others from B'ham that will be on the same flight as me so I will get to meet them early in the morning. It's kind of weird going into something like this where I will be in such close company with a bunch of people for several days that I have yet to lay eyes on. There's only one person on the whole crew that I actually know and that's Jason Barksdale. I've known him for several years and he's worked on my bike many times. But other than Jason, I don't know anyone. However, I have a feeling that's all about to change...and I'm looking forward to it! Oh yeah, I did connect with another guy -Chris Champion- through a mutual friend on Twitter who is also crewing. And he's an edtech geek like me so that's pretty neat. It seemed like it was going to take forever for summer to arrive and especially June 9th, but now it's almost here and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. There are so many things I am stoked about, flying being one of them. I know, you are probably thinking who gets excited about flying? Well, since I have only been on a plane 2 other times in my whole life, I DO! Being a teacher with 3 kids as well as growing up in a family that didn't do any long-distance travel, I haven't been on many planes (once in high school and once last year to fly to a conference in Orlando). So yeah, I think flying is pretty cool and see it as a fun part of this whole adventure, not simply a means to get to the place where the adventure will begin. And then there's the whole "going to California" thing. I hear you don't have to buy any fruit on the count that it grows on all the trees and I even heard your 1st month's rent is free. Well, that's what Early told me anyway (if you haven't seen Kalifornia, just ignore that part). Seeing the Pacific and some of southern CA will be pretty awesome...haven't seen it since my honeymoon took my wife and I on a road trip out there 13 years ago! And what about the RAAM? Well, I don't really know where to begin...but I have a feeling I will really soon.

Have you ever travelled across country with virtual strangers? If so, tell me about it in the comments.

Check back later and thanks for reading.

I leave for the RAAM in just 2 days, BUT

Today my focus is elsewhere. It's our 13th wedding anniversary so I am surprising my wife with a night at Ross Bridge, which is a local resort with a really sweet pool, great restaurant and lots to do. They even have a bagpiper that comes out at dusk and plays around the grounds. She's out shopping right now so I'll surprise her when she gets home and tell her to pack a bag because our room is ready. I already called to check:) I told my oldest son, who promptly replied with a sincere "NO FAIR!" 'cause he knows how fun the pool is. So, since I am about to be gone for a while and the resort is just down the street, we may take the kids with us for a little while to swim and have some quality family time before they go back to stay with Nanny. After that, it's just us and NO KIDS! Woohoo! That's a rare treat for us. Then I guess tomorrow I will pack for RAAM.

Cool way to view RAAM route w/Google Earth

If you are a Google Earth user and have an interest in RAAM, then check this out. Click this link, save the file to your computer and open it in Google Earth. It puts the entire route into Google Earth for you, including all the time stations as well other neat stuff so you can view with all the different options and tools that GE has to offer. Below is a screen shot.

And so it begins!

Well, this is my first post to the new blog I set up today as I prepare for my 1st experience as a part of the Race Across America (RAAM) with Team Type 1. I leave heading out to California in just 5 days so everything is starting to move pretty fast and the reality of what's about to go down is starting to settle in. But, I really don't know what to expect because I don't know any more about the RAAM than what you can find on the website or glean from reading blogs. And as for being a part of a RAAM crew...well, I know even less about that since it's something I have never done before. I am an avid cyclist, like challenges and really enjoy to travel, so I think crewing for TEAM TYPE 1 is a gonna be a good fit for me. Yeah, there have been conference calls with the rest of the crew, handbooks with lots of info to help me prepare and I am pretty sure will be driving the racer van-the one that puts out the new racer and picks up the one that just finished. Well, at least I think that's my role. But that doesn't matter. I could be the official water boy and would still be just as stoked to serve as part of the team! I have checked out the official RAAM route book, map, rules and all that stuff. But like becoming a teacher, I ain't gonna know what it's really all about until I get there and just start doing "it"...whatever "it" may be. And despite all the questions still swirling in my head along with lots of uncertainties, I can't wait to embark on this journey that's going to take me across the country with a great group of folks (well, they sounded great over the phone) at a speed of around 19 mph as we work hard to support 8 committed riders who are focused on winning the RAAM. I am sure I will see things and have experiences that will be pretty amazing and I hope to post as many of them here as I can...that' s the plan anyway.

I gotta say I am a little anxious about being away from my family for 12 days. My past travels without my wife and kids to an occasional tech conference have kept me away for 4 nights at the most, so this is going to be a challenge for everyone at my house. However, my boys are okay with it as long as I bring them a souvenir from each state I pass through. We'll see how that goes! Oh yeah, and there is a request by my oldest (10) for a snow globe if I can find one. Yeah, he collects 'em. But I gotta say, my wife has been nothing but supportive of me doing this. In fact, when I first told her about the opportunity and mentioned that the dates conflicted with our summer camping plans, she said it was a no-brainer and encouraged me to go for it. I'm not sure if her response was because she wasn't too excited about the thought of 2 weeks of camping at the beach with our 2 year-old or because she really wants me to experience RAAM, but whatever it is, I am grateful to have such a supportive wife (of 13 years this Monday)! So here we are just days away and things are starting to come together. More posts to come...