It is four days away from my leaving for San Diego.  Barb and I leave at 6 AM from Portland.  We fly to NY and then to San Diego.
I have struggled the last few days with a stomach virus which may have been as much stress as virus but I am now feeling well and back to eating good food.

I contributed to my own stress by deciding to buy a rental property which was supposed to close (at the government's request) at the end of January and of course still has not.  I had to get a power of attorney for son Ben (who is renting said house from me) but everything is lined up. He and his cousin and a contractor will be doing some renovations on the house.  They won't have me to micromanage.  I also made a reservation deposit on a condo to be built this summer.  The snow really convinced me that my house is too big and the stairs to the back door just too much.

I had a wine tasting fundraiser with all my wonderful friends and family. They generously contributed almost $500.  What friends.   They also helped cook, clean and just have a good time.
It was a good send off.

I hope that I will be open to all that this trip will offer.  I came across this quote "Traveling lightly leaves room for mystery and miracle to happen."  (Fr. Anthony Oelrich).  I am not sure how "lightly" I am traveling but certainly I will be leaving  most day-today activities behind.  

Nancy and Barb K. at our bike class at Papa Wheelies, Portsmouth, NH

We start riding three weeks from today out of San Diego.  At least it won't be snowing (I hope) but we will be heading into the mountains on that first day.
My training is going well but now I am concentrating on getting everything organized at home before I  leave.

I am having a wine-tasting fundraiser next Saturday for my Pedal with a Heart fund.  I also wish to thank everyone who has contributed.  We are doing well, over $1,600 which will be matched 1:1.  If you haven't pledged, don't worry you can do so anytime during my tour.  I have a new pledger who is pledging 3 cents a mile but says  I can't sag.  SAG stands for support and gear and is a short way of saying that you can take a van/car ride if you need to.

Barb (a fellow rider on the WomanTour) and I took the first of two classes on bike maintenance.  We spent most of the time on tires.  I   discovered that my tires are very tight on my rim and I had a bit of difficulty with this.  I am sure I will get some more practice on the trip.  It was a very helpful class and we continue next week with work on our drive train. (Note to other riders on the Tour: Barb and I are not yet experts.)