I'm In the Land of Dr. Frasier Crane

Greetings from Redmond, WA!  I have arrived at the starting host hotel for the Cycle Washington II tour.  The Redmond Inn in......(wait for it).......(wait for it).......REDMOND,WA! :)  In fact, Redmond's motto is "The bicycling capital of the Northwest."  I got to see this for myself as on the way to the hotel, we passed Marymoor Park which has an Olympic sized velodrome.  And the many cyclists we passed on the road confirms this as well.

So How did I get here?  Well, the car from H & M Limo was at my door promptly at 9:00 AM to whisk me to O'Hare.  And in the limo, I thought about all of the things I forgot at home like my arm warmers, dryer sheets Laura bought for me specifically for this trip, and a few other knick-knacks.  I have forgotten something on every cycle trip I've taken.  Oh well.  I'll survive! :)

I made it to O'hare in plenty of time and then discovered something wonderful that all of you frequent flyers already know:  Award trips are AWESOME!!!  First of all, your first two pieces of checked luggage....FREE!  When I showed the TSA agent my boarding pass and ID to geting in the long sanke of a security line, she directed me to a Priority Access line with a tremendously short line....AWESOME!  And then when they started boarding, I got to board after 1st class and million mile travelers.  WEEEEEEEE!  I have got to start flying more frequently to rack up the miles!  The flight itself was extremely bumpy except for the last hour.  I not normally a white knuckle flyer but this one almost converted me!  But here I am safe and sound.

Tomorrow, I pickup my bike at the shop, take it for a test spin and prepare for the ride orientation meeting.  Good times, await! :)

Car back,
Gary

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."
--H.G. Wells