As I have begun sharing my plans and the link to this journal the most frequently asked question is WHY are you doing this...the second most frequently asked question is you're not doing this alone are you.  Today's entry is about the first question. I'll save my response to the second question for another day.

So WHY am I doing this:

1. Because I can!  At 65 1/2 years old I am still able to train for and complete a  ride like this. One never knows what tomorrow brings...so Carpe Diem!

2. Because there is so much of our country that I have not seen and if I have seen it, I've not experienced it at the level one does while riding a bike versus driving in a car or flying over in an airplane. And of course there are tons and tons of people I haven't met and I have so much to learn from them and their stories.

3. Because I am a story-teller and I believe that "life is about collecting stories"...Sometimes they find you and sometimes you need to seek them out. I experienced so much on my last trip and I'm still sharing all of those stories, but of course I can use some new ones.

4. Because training for the ride and then riding 2,000 plus miles in a month allows me to eat all of the chocolate chip cookies I want without feeling the slightest bit guilty

5. And most importantly, Mrs G said it's ok! And even better than that, she is going to sag me for a few of the upfront days.

In addition to all of that, it is a way to stay connected to all of you and to share my passion with my family, especially little Ian (who isn't so little anymore) and Zeke who both are expecting postcards from every state (just like last time).