Moving along

Well, tonight I sit, tired and sore, a day after my bike ride of just 40 miles. Judy and I rode the Jack's Creek ride yesterday. Instead of following the route, we reversed it this time, hoping it might be a bit easier. It was, I guess, but we got off-route at one point and got about 1/4 mile up a very steep hill before we both swore so much that I offered to go back down to see if I had made a navigating mistake (I had). We got back on route but by that time the multiple catered events of the weekend had caught up to me and I was really dragging, even though I had had a good nap and had gone to sleep early and had eaten a good breakfast. As we reached mile 25 and as my pedals were seeming to be coated with sludge, I began to wonder about the intelligence of choosing to ride across the whole United States. I guess that's the whole point of training. And I guess that's the point of keeping track of where you are - the better to appreciate where you get to. Right now I feel not very ready to tackle this big ride. But I guess I do trust that I will manage to get in shape. It will be a gradual thing. Good thing I'm starting now.

In other news, I got my first major pledge. My goal is to have the fundraising letters written and sent by the end of August. I'm saying that I have a goal of 50,000. A huge goal. I might be nuts to have this large of a goal and maybe even more nuts to be stating it publicly. Ah well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

And I have my first opportunity to talk publicly about the warning signs of ovarian cancer. On September 6th I am going to help launch a walk which is being done to raise money for ovarian cancer. a woman from Jubilee is doing this event in memory of her sister (I think) and it will be good to get out there, speak to a crowd, try out some of the thoughts I have. This morning I woke up in the middle of having a dream about giving a speech. Interesting.

And finally, today I saw Charley Castex, a psychic. Almost his whole reading was about doing something big next year. Something physical. Something involving teaching and nutrition. Something bigger than me. And he said not to be scared to think big. So here we go.

Today feels auspicious. I feel like I am off and running.