The past few days have been a whirlwind of preparation, packing, unpacking, repacking, and anticipation. We were the host family for Chris, one of the Big Riders from southern Illinois, and since he had not been to the Pacific Northwest before Saturday was spent touring Seattle. What spectacular weather we had to show off the area!

The culmination of the weekend was the Orientation and dinner at the home of one of the Big Riders from 2000. There I finally met all 31 of the other Big Riders; what a wonderful group! Ages range from 20s to 60s, roughly equal proportion of men and women, and from places as close as Seattle and as far as Slovenia. We had our first of many opportunities to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grab a few bananas for the road, and head home to throw the last few items into the duffle bag and try to get some sleep.

Today has been a roller coaster of emotions, from impatience to get going, to questioning about what I've gotten myself into. On top of that is the realization that I won't see my wife and kids for 7 weeks, and wanting to make the most of these last hours at home with them. But underlying it all is the knowledge that I'm accomplishing a dream, and that it's for a great cause. Anyway, the excitement continues tomorrow!