56 days to go and we just got the duffel bags that we will live out of for 50 days while on out trip. 30 pounds for each of us spread between two duffels. I guess we'll have to leave the formalwear home. More on what this will consist of at a later date. Right now our main concern is getting our two new bikes built in time to ride them enough to be able to take them on this trip. We have 90% of the components in hand and ready for assembly. The wait is for the frames, which are scheduled to arrive from Italy in early April.

A few tidbits about the trip:
Longest day 115 miles
Shortest day 43 miles
Lowest altitude -14 feet
Highest altitude 7570 feet

Our route through Illinois will be Quincy, Springfield, Champaign if any of you want to join us for a day or two of riding.

In 68 days we start our epic cross country ride, Los Angeles to Boston. We start pedaling on May 11th and arrive in Boston on June 28th. During this time we will travel 3400 miles averaging approximately 80 miles per day. This is a 50 day crossing with 45 days of riding. For the math challenged, this means we will have 5 rest days spread throughout the ride. We will pass through 13 states while on our journey. We are traveling with a tour group of 30-40 cyclists organized by CrossRoads Cycling Adventures (www.crossroadscycling.com). We chose this group because it is a moderate miles per day ride. There are cross country rides ranging from 16 days on the very fast side too 90+ days on the very leisurely side. An 80 mile per day pace will allow us time to stop and see the sights as we move across the country.