Tons of last minute stuff to do.  Loads of packing and tough decisions about what to bring, etc.  Angelo Mascelli from Pearl Izumi stopped by the shop today with a box of goodies for me to try out.  Great stuff like a new Gavia Vector Jersey, Pro 3d bib knickers, some great winter socks, toe covers, a microsensor earband, and Gavia gloves.  I won’t be needing any of these until the last week of the trip.  I’ll pack it in a bag for Jen to bring to me those last 4 days that I’ll be on the Blue Ridge Parkway and north.  Thanks Angelo!  This stuff looks awesome.  Can’t wait to try it out!

I’m charging up my iPod, loading up my favorite playlist.  I don’t often ride with an iPod, but there will be some long, flat, boring stretches of desert coming up.  A little music will make it glide by a bit faster.  This is a great mix, everything from The Orb to Woody Guthrie.  I’m looking forward to hearing Wilco and Billy Bragg cover Woody Guthrie’s “California Stars” while I ride into dusk in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park east of San Diego at the end of day 1.

My friend Tim Coventry-Cox put me in touch with his buddy Jeff, who recently moved to San Diego.  Jeff is Superman!  He’s going to pick us up at the airport and shuttle us to pick up the RV, then he’ll ride with me for a while and help me navigate out of the city and into the mountains.  He’s picking up a stash of CO2 cartridges for me, too.  There’s nothing as great as having a local guide in unfamiliar circumstances.  Jeff, we’re looking forward to meeting up with you!

Day one will be fun.  Going from sea level to 5,000 feet, then down into the desert again should be quite interesting.  The SRAM compact gearing on the Roubaix should make life a bit easier.  Spin, spin, spin.

Posted by Geoff on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 11:07 pm.