Friday, Oct. 10, 2003
Leno, dinner with Lance, and preparing for the journey
Eric Winer, MD (second from right)
and Lance Armstrong (right) on
Tour of Hope
It is late on Friday night in Los Angeles and I am packing up for the ride.? There are a lot of logistics to deal with, but the Tour of Hope staff is taking great care of us.
Earlier tonight, Lance was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and we were all in the audience.? After the show, we got the chance to meet Lance at dinner.
We are off tomorrow. Our team of six -- one of four small teams cycling across the country in the Tour of Hope -- is doing the first leg in the morning.? I will be happy to substitute sore muscles and fatigue for the anxiety that goes with anticipation.
Saturday, Oct. 11
Eighteen miles down, 3,182 to go
After a ceremonial ride to kick off the Tour with Lance on Saturday morning, our team took the first leg of the journey. Our job was to get us beyond the Los Angeles traffic, which explains why we only traveled 18 miles.
At night, we took our second shift of the day, beginning at around 10 p.m. By that time, we were in Arizona. Riding at night is a little spooky because I'm not really used to it. But I've also found that it can be peaceful, and there aren't many cars to worry about. We logged about 60 miles tonight.
Already, it's clear that sleeping is going to be hard to come by. When our ride shift is over, we wait for the bus to pick us up. The bus is equipped with beds, and we get an hour or two of sleep on the way to a nearby hotel. At the hotel, we'll usually have a few hours to eat, sleep, and make phone calls before the bus comes to pick us up for the next ride.
Tomorrow, we head into the hills of Arizona.
