London T-2, Prep for my bike tour to Brussels, and beyond...

It's a surreal and exciting feeling when one is waiting for imminent travel. In my head, I am constantly traveling but to physically remove myself from this reality and enter a new one, this is the best of all. My bags are packed, I have pending appointments to finish pending business, and I am attempting to update my website with new images (I have been bad about this). I have many projects to complete while gone and I have new ones I will start when I get back. It is an exciting new adventure I am embarking on not only on a personal level but a professional level as well. First stop, London in jolly ol' England.

What many people don't know is that I am about to take on the biggest physical challenge of my life, I am riding my bike from Amsterdam to Brussels. The original plan was to ride from Amsterdam to Paris which is about 508 km (316 mi) but do to certain circumstances it has been changed around a little, but it is an exciting event nonetheless! I am going with my wonderful friend John H. and we will begin our ride June 27 in Amsterdam and are scheduled to arrive in Brussels, July 2. This trip is approximately 204 km (127 mi) so a 408 km (254 mi) roundtrip! Although I would love to document this event in real time and post images as it is occurring, I will not be taking my laptop on the bike ride so I will be writing in my journal and I will blog and post pictures when I get back to Amsterdam approximately July 8.

Now, considering this is the greatest physical challenge of my life I knew I needed to do something more than what I was currently doing to prepare for this bike tour. For one, I was going to need to bike more and more often. Granted, I already rode my bike a whole lot and recently I have been averaging 48 km (30 mi) a day. My longest ride of this season was of 106 km (66 mi) from Elk Grove to Davis and back--and this is all not on a road bike. This has been the less than painful portion of my preparation...
Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you John Reynolds...don't let the sweet innocent face fool you.
The painful preparation was brought to me by my personal trainer John Reynolds, the most hated personal trainer in Sacramento. Oh and how I have hated him as I did what felt like my one millionth squat.

But truth be told, I love the man, even as he made me sweat so it looked like I just stepped out of the shower, made my legs shake to the point I could not walk, he made me a stronger and more prepared for this trip. I can now do ten pushups without stopping! And they are REAL pushups not those whimpy girl pushups. So if you are looking for some real personal training that will rock your world, John is your man.
Today is my last training session before I leave, I will miss this torture sessions and his encouragement. But believe me when the ride gets tough, I will remember the sound of his voice pushing me forward. Thanks John!

And so, this is my last blog in the States for the next 40 days...stay tuned for images and commentary.
Ciao e a presto amici!