Welcome to my journal!

At last. Months of planning, intense training and overcoming a last-minute near disaster with a badly damaged carbon fibre strut on my bike, is now behind. Soon I'll be reunited with Peter, Oleh, Susan and her friend Dan in Colorado, and we'll be riding together on what is certain to be an epic adventure.

Stan, during his last Ride the Rockies tour in 2006-->

I'll be taking my bike out for a shake-down ride tomorrow morning, after having it miraculously repaired by Rod Mulder. I didn't know it at the time, but I learned later that Rod is quite possibly the only guy in Canada that could do this type of work. Incredibly, he had it fixed in four days flat. I then took the frame, with two bags full of bike parts, to Dizzy Cycles where the mechanic spent nearly seven hours reassembling it. If my ride is successful, it looks like I'll have my beloved Trek 5200 with me on the plane to Colorado on Tuesday.

In the meantime, I'll be busy assembling gear, clothes that can accommodate mountain temperatures that my range from near freezing to extreme heat, tents, sleeping bags (I'll be camping during much of it, with my friend Oleh), and dozens of other items needed for the trip. But, for the most part, the planning is done. We're all excited about our upcoming ride.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful adventure. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

In the meantime, check out our new RTR 2011 Web Site, where you will soon find lots of photos!

UPDATE Sunday, June 6th: I tried the bike this morning, it rides beautifully!! It's now packed safely into an air shipping box, ready for my flight on Tuesday morning.