To Mexico, via Canada.

This is it. Months and months of training, preparation, and obsessing have flown by, and tomorrow morning I'm heading north for the start of the Tour Divide. I think all the little details have been taken care of, so hopefully this last day isn't too frantic. My legs feel great, the bike is primed, gear is stowed, and my head is ready for some big days.

Follow along with the race as things progress, beginning on Friday June 12:

Live tracking provided by SPOT

Updates on the race blog, including transcribed call-in messages from racers

Listen to the call-in messages

If the live tracking page isn't working, try this one for my SPOT unit

And there may be occasional updates here. We'll see.

As for my World Bicycle Relief fund raiser, I've almost made my goal. A couple hundred more dollars will put it over the top, so please, if you haven't made a small donation, consider it. Click on the WBR link at right to make a contribution.

Before I close, I want to thank everyone else who has played a role in making this adventure possible. Without all these great people and companies, there's no way I'd be able to do this.

Gear:
-Eric at Epic Designs for the fantastic bags
-White Brothers for the amazingly dependable front suspension
-The good folks at SRAM for hooking me up with bomber components
-White Industries got me on their hubs yet again
-Pearl Izumi for taking pity on a poor product tester
-Gore Bike Wear for rain gear that keeps me truly dry
-University Bikes in Boulder for helping me out
-Ergon for keeping my hands comfy for so many hours of training
-Mike Curiak for lacing up the strongest wheels I've ever had

Other support:
-Matt Lee for organizing this little race
-My parents for being awesome and driving me to Banff
-Maggie for always being amazingly supportive and for offering to pick me up in NM
-Alex for putting up with my incessant yammering about everything bikes
-Giff for granting me some time off from my studies
-Mike Dion for lending the his SPOT unit
-Fred W and Scott M for putting on awesome ultra events earlier in the season
-Brandon Dwight at Boulder Cycle Sport for hosting a World Bicycle Relief night at the shop
-Katie Bolling at WBR for helping get my fund raising efforts off the ground
-Everyone who donated to my WBR fund raiser
-Everyone who has joined me for parts of the many long training rides
-And everyone who might come out and ride with me for an hour or two on the Divide

So with that, I'm off to Canada. And then Mexico. Let's see how this thing goes. Send positive, anti-inflammatory vibes to my knees if you've got any!