Saturday, June 1:

Family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, political enemies:  As many of you know, I'm going to attempt to ride my bicycle across the United States.  The ride begins June 2 (tomorrow) in San Francisco and, if all goes well, ends in Rye, New Hampshire on July 23.  48 days of riding and 5 rest days.  An average of about 80 miles per day.  Yes, I'm 64 years old and no, I've never ridden more than about 65 miles in a day.  But I've been training hard.  I've biked about 7900 miles in the last 14 months, and feel good about it.  I'm going with a group called America by Bicycle, based nearby in Plaistow, New Hampshire (I live up the road in Exeter).  They take care of the logistics - hotel, two meals a day, basic repairs, and importantly, hauling my stuff from place to place.  So all I have to do is ride.  I flew from New Hampshire to San Francisco on May 30, giving me enough time to re-assemble my bike (which arrived in SF on May 22), meet my fellow riders, and get ready to go.

I'm calling my blog "Old Man on a Very Small Seat".

Here's the old man:

Here's the very small seat:

Here's the info for tomorrow's first ride:

Yes, a 6:00 a.m. start.  The first day will be exciting - the traditional wheel dip in the Pacific Ocean, riding across the Golden Gate Bridge, and 73 miles in all.  I'll let you know how the first day goes.