Wow, the day has finally arrived. We left Sacramento at 7:30 A.M. on Thursday morning. I was totally surprised by being met with all my neighbors being in front of the garage when the door was opened! Thank you Nancy and Gene for your efforts and the coffee and donuts that everyone enjoyed! What a wonderful sendoff - with well wishes from everyone! My special hat from Terri and Jesse truly set the stage for the all the things I need to remember! Thanks to everyone for their support. It's greatly appreciated!

Sunday morning we leave the hotel at 7:00 a.m. and head to Manhattan Beach Pier where we dip our rear tire in the Pacific Ocean. We have a group photo and then we're off to Riverside - our first stop on the trek. It's a 78 mile day. We had a 3 hour orientation meeting. I met the other 26 riders followed by dinner and getting acquainted. I've set the alarm for 5:00 a.m. for the first day activities!

1. More later...