June 1, the day that seemed would never come is just around the corner. Last week self doubt got the best of me, but that’s all behind me now. The more time I spend with my team, the less crazy I feel. I made the right decision. I don’t expect this summer to be easy, but I do expect it to be both fun and rewarding and I’m ready for it all.

We’ve been concentrating on inspiration and motivation recently. Martina sent the team a link to a Lance Armstrong video on the Nike site. I’m sure we’ll be seen in many of the same landscapes…but we’ll be sharing the road with cars. And a clever and sweet contributor included the following poem with her donation:

May you never take a spill
May the road be ever down hill.

May the wind be at your back
May your tires be never flat.

May you ride with grace and speed
And folks (along the way) meet your every need!

I’m going to make the mail drops a static page you can reach from the right navigation menu just so anyone who wishes to write me can find the address with little effort! Turns out I’ll be in Anchorage for a bit longer than anticipated, so if you’d like to send me a note at the end of the line, please do.

I’ve been concentrating my efforts this week on contacting cities to let them know we’re coming and to ask for food and shelter. It’s been an amazing experience, I can’t wait to meet the people with whom I’ve been corresponding across the continent. But, now it’s time for me to organize my life and tie up loose ends so that I don’t return to chaos in August. As challenging as this summer will prove, I anticipate that returning to school and work devoid of some of my closest friends this Fall will bring its own challenges. Good thing I like a challenge!

For those of you who haven’t heard, I’ve gotten myself all worked up about bears. My mom outfitted me with some bear spray last weekend. Talking to more experienced woodsmen has calmed my fears a bit, although word on the street is “you don’t have to ride faster than a bear, you just have to ride faster than Libby.” I had forgotten that I was a bear for Halloween, a bear wouldn’t hurt one of her own, would she?

The trip is less than two weeks away! I’m bringing my laptop along, but I’m not going to depend on finding free wireless too often… I’ll do my best to update my journal as frequently as possible – with pictures, but I will also be taking my address book with me. In case you, too, would like to use the US Postal Service, I have a list of mail drop addresses and pick up dates.

Mon, June 7
Norman, OK 73069

Mon, June 14
Dodge City, KS 67801

Tues, June 22
Fort Collins, CO 80525-9999

Tues, June 29
Yellowstone Nat’l Park, WY 82190-9999

Tues, July 6
Browning, MT 59417

Mon, July 19
Station A
Prince George, BC V2L4R8

Thurs, July 29
Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A4N2

Weds, August 4
Northway, AK 99764

Tues, August 9
Anchorage, AK 99501

So, if you would like to send me correspondence, address the envelope to:

Texas 4000 — Libby Peterek
c/o General Delivery
City, State Zip

The post office will hold it for me until I pass through and pick it up. I should note that I probably will not have enough time in Anchorage to pick up mail. I’m leaving on a jet plane at 1am on August 10…so unless I develop some mad cycling speed over the summer, I doubt I’ll make it to Anchorage before the post office closes.

Back to bed, I’m still under the weather…but I did bike 45 miles this morning, lotza hills, and lotza humidity.

The benefit show was a great success, due, in no small part, to the hard work and dedication of DynaMO Pair. Many thanks to Opposite Day, the Coffee Sergeants, Syd’s Portal, Kevin Gant, Steve Arceri, Laci, Ethan Azarian, Evan, Paige, j, Karla Manzur, Doug Snyder, and all my friends old and new that came out to the Church of the Friendly Ghost last Saturday. I was able to ride 80 miles earlier that day which aided a guilt-free evening of celebration.

I can’t believe how time has flown. In two weeks and a day, I will be on the road. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to say “I’m ready,” each ride brings new challenges. I’m a little nervous knowing that we are all about to ride into unfamiliar territory, but I’ve been contacting several cities in the hopes that we’ll have friendly faces greeting us along the way. The emails and phone calls have made me really wish I was heading through Portland, which is, apparently, a sister city to Austin. Ready or not here we come!

I’ve been spending the last few weeks with the people I love (in Illinois & Austin), training, and making mental models of bear attacks. Last weekend, we celebrated Mother’s Day and my sister, Katie, graduated with her Education degree…I’m not sure why I received the smallest dose of height in my family.

This weekend, in addition to the benefit, I helped throw a baby shower for my friends, Sam & Margaret. Their little girl is due a few days before I return. Next weekend, it’s back to Illinois for a family wedding and to celebrate my dad’s birthday…maybe a little bike work to make him more comfortable for Bike the Drive.

At the moment, I’m nursing a sore throat, hopefully it won’t linger, so I can get back on the bike!

As many of you know, I still have some fundraising to do before I reach my $3000 mark for Texas 4000 and the American Cancer Society. Many thanks to Mo Pair for setting this benefit show up and showing me the “promo” ropes. He’s set up some great tunes and several local artists have donated some very nice pieces of art for the auction (check out Evan’s great work on the poster). Please email me with any questions…

Syd Barrett Hoot Night & Art Auction

a benefit for the American Cancer Society
May 15, 8pm – midnight, $5, BYOB
Church of the Friendly Ghost
209 Pedernales (see map below)

Bands include:
Syd’s portal
Opposite Day
Coffee Sergeants

I can’t really explain the expanse of time since my last post, it’s certainly not that I’m at a loss for things to write about. The second weekend in April, I biked the Easter Hill Country Tour (EHCT). It was bluebonnet season down here and so the rides through the hill country were especially beautiful. We started in Fredericksburg on Friday and biked 74 miles (the picture below at Enchanted Rock was from Friday) and on Saturday we began in Kerrville. I chose to ride 65 so I could be back in time to finish a project I was working on for school. Others attempted the century, 100 miles, but only rode 65 because of inclement weather. I rode with clipless pedals for the first time this weekend and I left with a nice souveneir on my left knee. I was told never to forget that I was using clipless pedals, cause that’s when I’m gonna fall. Wise words.

After I returned from the EHCT weekend, my new bike was ready. I had grown even closer to my trusty mountain bike through my training rides and trip to the coast and hill country, so it was difficult to get acquainted with my new road bike. The next weekend I took it to the Veloway, a closed track in South Austin limited to cyclists and rollerbladers, to work on turns and shifting. Now, a few weeks later, I’ve begun calling my new bike the “nice” bike. I LOVE IT. It makes me want to cry when I think about how hard I had to work to get up those hills. I’ve got new shoes and clipless pedals on my bike and it rides like a dream. The below picture doesn’t really do the tiny nature of the bike justice. For those of you that don’t know me, I am a small woman – 5’1″ in the morning. This bike is a 43cm, the smallest Trek makes. Because of this my wheels are a bit smaller than most of the team’s wheels. So, apparently, I have to work a little harder, but it’s nothing compared to riding that clunky mountain bike around town!

We’ve had some incredible speakers at our Monday evening meetings lately. Survivors telling their stories, doctors sharing their knowledge and experience, and nutritionists providing us equations for effective endurance training. I was able to bike my first century last Wednesday, the first 20 miles with the team, and the final 80 solo. After I finished I felt like a million bucks, I know it was thanks to the nutritionist because on previous long rides I never felt that great sometimes up to a day after the ride. Now I have the recipe for success…and it includes protein enhanced cookies!
The last two weekends we’ve spent at Relays for Life around town. Relay for Life is an event sponsored by the American Cancer Society. People create teams and raise money for cancer. Then they meet at the Relay for Life and at least one member of the team must walk or run around the track from 7pm to 7am. There are so many survivors there! The stories are truly amazing. In fact, I’ve begun to realize survivors everywhere I turn. I feel like I’m always telling people about the Texas 4000 and they’re always willing to share stories about their fights against cancer. It’s what makes it all worth it.

School and work have taken a lot of my time lately. One more week and I’ll have another semester under my belt. I recently received an award (and lots of teasing) for being the Teaching Assistant of the year at UT. This came at an especially good time, because we’ve just been notified about each rider’s “out of pocket” expenses for the trip. My award will almost cover it. I’m still working hard at my fundraising efforts. My benefit concert on May 15 is a go and it’s gonna be fantastic. I’ll post more on that soon!!!