Tip to Tip

As it turns out the "official" name for the top to bottom ride in England is Tip to Tip. It starts at Lands End in the south and proceeds north the top of Scotland. The boys (Tom and Peter) will be leaving tomorrow night, flying through the night, and presumably meeting with Harry (and the mysterious but we now know beautiful Carole as well ?) on Thursday. I had expected Tom to be involved in last minute details and was ten miles into a ride when my cell phone went off and it was Tom looking for one last bit of training before crossing the pond. I found him with his bike suitcase packed and ready and he pulled out his backup and we were off again. He, of course, talked of nothing but his packing, how he has organized everything - I even learned of the almost infinite variety of plastic baggies he has found for the trip. I suggested at one point that he seemed to be packing for a trip to the edge of the civilized world with all that he is bringing along. And in between we chose a good mix of rolling hills and flats where he could occasionally shoot out ahead and test his abilities to keep up with a couple of strong riders - it was fun trying to pull him back in (for my own satisfaction) but he is in good shape and the three of them should have a good couple of weeks. For my own part I'm doing a century on Saturday, my first since the accident and my first organized ride since last year. It is sponsored by the Princeton bike club and is an annual event that I have done for years. This year will be a little more special because I'm seeing it as a kind of "I'm back" statement and a test of all the rehab and riding I've done over the past 12 months or so. Plus the event attracts about 2,000 riders for a variety of distances and is just a fun day - the weather forecast is good and I'm looking forward to it.