Day 0 of the Cycle for CAC Kids. America by Bicycle calls today "Day 0" because it is a "no mileage" day. It is the day that many folks have ABB assemble their bikes and the check in process is initiated. We have a total of 17 riders with 13 of those folks going coast to coast. The other 4 will finish at Albuquerque and then fly to their homes from there. After checking in and getting my helmet and bike inspected, I went to Starbucks with "Kari", our participant from Finland. Kari is about my age but has two, repeat two titanium knees, the result of zealous efforts at soccer and marathons. He's had his mechanical advantage about two years and seems to be completely comfortable and mobile with his new additions. Kari is also unique in that he is using "tubular tires". Tubulars are tires with the tube sealed inside the tire and then glued to the frame of the wheel. While they are commonly used by cycling racers, these are definitely not recommended for long distance riding over unfamiliar roads. This could be very interesting! The afternoon included safety briefings and route briefings and advice to sloooooooooooow doooooooooown. Since the ride is a full 27 days, Mike Munk, our ride leader wants to give us all the best chance of making it through the next 3-4 days with temps in the Palm Springs and Blythe, CA areas well over 100 degrees. My roommate, Greg, is from San Diego and is doing his ride for the Wounded Warrior Project. He has raised almost $12,000 for this important charity. He and I went out to dinner at a vegetarian restaurant and we each had "faux" range chicken that was really quite tasty. Fog Horn Leghorn would be proud indeed! And for our dessert, we polished off the leftover grapes, strawberries, blue berries, and peanuts I bought yesterday. My Day 0 motto is: Leave no healthy food behind. I've definitely noticed that there is spotty/no news coverage of the Rams, Blues or Cardinals in these parts, but I'm sure they are respectively 1) on the verge of winning the Super Bowl 2) about to win the Stanley Cup or 3) still in first place hoping Albert goes 162 games without hitting a home run. Looking forward to the adventure starting tomorrow, and "making a memory" as my friend Larry Fariss always says. Stay healthy, Steve