28 Days until departure

It is down to only 28 days until departure.  It is hard to imagine that 4 weeks from today I will board the plane for this epic 7,500 mile adventure.  Emails have been going back and forth from other riders on the trip.  There seems to be a couple of common threads to their thoughts... 

*  All are concerned about not being "ready" for the demands of the trip.  I have upped my spinning classes to 5 days a week to compensate but that won't really have me thoroughly prepared.  I think the first week and a half to two weeks of the trip will really be the conditioning needed.  By then the aches, pains and strains will let the body know what it is in for.  Thank goodness at least the first week or so are along the Nile River valley, supposedly flat!

*  Another common concern is the reality of the magnitude of this adventure.   7,500 miles over 4 months from the top of Africa to the bottom of the continent.  Just think about that,   the enormity of this undertaking, no small feat!  As many have said, their friends and family think they are crazy.  So, I guess it is with collective insanity that we will all meet in Cairo to embark upon this epic adventure.  One that will put us in the less than 1% of the people of the earth, heck less than .01%.  

So it is with great excitement and a bit of trepidation that I look forward to what is awaiting me.  Also, for those reading this....  I will need all the encouragement that can be mustered. There will be days of awe, days of challenge, days that fly by, days that are excruciatingly long, days filled with unbelievably amazing new sites and days of pain.  Through all of these I will share all that I can and will need all the encouragement you can muster.  So, thanks in advance.

4 weeks til launch!  WOW can't wait!