It's been about a month since my last blog..been so busy with school and finals that I've had no time to update here. Now that I'm done with classes and am a week away from starting the trip I'll be able to make more frequent posts!
Just today I reached the $3,000 fundraising minimum! Thanks to BUSMS events and personal donations I've finally been able to get to the goal..and of course I'm not stopping. At this point I'm wondering how much more I can raise and what kind of personal goals to set for myself..let's see how far I can take it! We've been able to raise $72,000 so far, which is incredible..but we still have much more to go as a group of almost 30 cyclists raising money for the cause.
Training has also been going steady. Just recently I went up Mountain Lake (where they filmed Dirty Dancing!), an almost 7 mile climb in Pembroke, VA. It was pretty brutal, considering the whole way is nothing but up, up, up..but it was really good practice for what awaits me in the state of VA. Here's a couple pics of the view while we took a little break.
You can see some cows in the distance
Sip sip!
I'm still having issues with the clip-in pedals, but for that I just need more practice. It's getting to be a little embarrassing to fall over while I'm not even riding! But that's all just part of getting used to your bike.
Speaking of which, I've got some upgrades/goodies for my bike - I ordered a Brooks Flyer S (leather saddle made specially for women) and an Ortlieb handlebar bag.
Aside from that I've also been getting gear/camping stuff in general. Chamois shorts, gloves, helmet mirrors, sleeping bags, mess kits..the whole shebang. I think I'm pretty ready with supplies at this point, but I'm sure I'm still missing a lot. You never know what else you're going to need until you start packing everything up and getting ready to go, so I'm sure I'm still going to be running around trying to get supplies as the time draws near for departure...in ONE WEEK! I'm soo excited. :)
The Fens next to the support trailer!
