This Saturday I'll be getting up at 5:00 a.m. and loading up my bike into Dave's van, next to his bike and Frank's, and heading up to Welches, Oregon for the Tour De Cure 100-mile ride (aka Summit to Surf, or Fire and Ice since it goes from Mt Hood to Hood River).

My training rides this week will consist of the 20 mile round trip sprint to work this morning and back this afternoon, a 2 hour 30-mile hard Wed morning ride over plenty of hilly terrain, another 20-mile round trip ride to work on Thursday, and maybe an easy ride on Friday morning.

The longer training rides are behind us, and we'll take it easy the second half of this week to make sure we roll into Saturday morning rested and with plenty of reserves left for the long century haul.

Tomorrow I'll check my tires for wear and tear, including a careful check for gashes or nicks that might indicate the need for a replacement. I'll also lube my chain, crankset, brake calipers and any other moving parts I can find. I replaced my brakes just a few months ago and they're still have about 75% left on them.

The morning of the ride, I'll have a bowl of cereal with some toast and PBJ. There will be plenty of food and drink at the fueling stations during the ride, but I want to make sure I've given my body time to convert some food to lasting energy before the ride starts at 7:00 a.m.

Excitement is definitely building! This will be the longest, hardest ride I've ever attempted and the effort goes to a great cause: the American Diabetes Association.

On your mark, get set, GO!

Oh wait, that's right... it's not a race. We just have to finish. But I have to admit I hope we pass a lot more people than pass us.