For all the marbles.

Hello friends,

Tomorrow at 7 am (why does it have to be so early?) I will put to an end a journey at least a year in the making.

I've been thinking for a while about what I was going to say in this post. First of all, I need to say thank you to the people who have supported me. Of course, to those who have supported the Bike MS cause financially ($755 as of right now...but there's still time :), but also to all of you who have told me I could do it.

Truthfully, when I first started training, I had some doubts about my ability to finish. But as I was packing last night, there was no doubt in my mind. Yes there will be difficult stretches of ride tomorrow and Sunday, there will be things I'm sure that push me to my limits, but I have zero doubt that I will finish the race.

But no matter how long it takes, no matter what goes on during the ride, I think just getting here has made me a significantly better person:

• I have lost 17 pounds so far. I have 30 more to go to reach my over-all goal.
  
• I've learned how what I eat effects a ride, and how most of what I was putting into my body was garbage. (Sometimes it still is, but I try to make it less and less)
  
• I joined a gym, and became comfortable sitting in a sauna or whirlpool with really old guys who like to complain a lot.
  
• I learned from sites like Livestrong.com and Trainingpeaks.com how to best train for a ride like this, and what a season should look like from start to finish.
  
• I learned that recovery is every bit as important as training.
  
• My commute from work went from 15 minutes on a mountain bike to under 5 on a road bike.
  
• I bought my first road bike.
  
• I commute to as many places as I can by bike now, saving who knows how much CO2 and putting more money in my pocket.
  
• I learned more about the city I live in because I've been lost on my bike in it, and was forced to figure things out.
  
• I took my first group ride, and learned how to support a team.
  
• I have taken the first few fragile steps towards not being afraid of hills. Some day I will look forward to the pain they bring.
  
• I took my face from this:
  

• To this:

I'll have my iPad with me, so hopefully I'll be able to hop on the Crankset and update you guys from the race tomorrow. If not, follow me on Twitter (Freyer28) for updates from each rest stop. And most of all, I covet your prayers. It's supposed to rain at least a little bit tomorrow, so pray that everybody stays upright on our bikes.

I'll leave you with the video I've watched before every training ride this year. Something about this just gets my heart racing and makes me want to be on a bike.

Godspeed,

Jason