Well, the show is finally on the road. We gathered at Holiday Inn Express just beside San Francisco Airport in mid afternoon.....windy and a cool 60 degrees. In the lobby I look around and think 'These are to be my close companions for the next 2 months as we slowly move across this country'. Glancing about I think that they are not all young flyers and that I'll fit in and hold my own. The bike and helmet are given a safety-check by Gerard, the tour mechanic and gets the A-OK. Michelle helps me through the registration process and furnishes me with further documentation.
At this stage, it was time to say goodbye to Margaret, Sinead, Barrie and our grand-daughter Saoirse....they all have been so supportive of me in the long preparation for this venture.
At the orientation session the tour staff, Andy, Michelle, Christine and Gerard cover all areas especially safety and typical daily routine before and after cycling. We all introduce ourselves, where we're from and why we undertake this challenge. There are 35 going the whole way and 19 more who will drop in and drop out for various stages. (6 stages in all). Most are American, with 2 from Netherlands, 1 from England, 1 from Wales, 2 from Germany, 2 from Australia, 1 from New Zeland, 1 from Trinidad, myself from Ireland and interestingly enough a lady from Golden. One American doing the first 2 stages is called Charles Higgins ..... haven't been chatting to him yet. So many of them have recently retired (early) and in my introduction I proudly stated how I was doing this cycle for Providence School, Shillong and that I would be going on that bit extra to Providence RI.
Familiarisation continued afterwards during dinner and I met quite a few who had been to Ireland cycling in Kerry and Conemara and who had enjoyed the scenery and the people so much.
Route Rap after dinner covered the details of tomorrows route ... one of the most demanding from a navigation aspect. Cue sheets with distances, turns, stops, etc were given to all. I have every confidence in our staff...they have years of experience behind each one of them and very concerned for the safety of all while insisting that we have an enjoyable trip.
At this stage everyone is just so keen to get on the road....it's likely that adrenaline will make sleep difficult tonight.
No pictures today......one hotel is just like the other.
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