Big Dam Bridge is tomorrow!

It's now just a matter of hours before the start of the Big Dam Bridge 100. I am probably about as carb loaded as one can get. If I have a flat it is because my tires no longer can hold my extra weight. Well, it's not really that bad. We did load up for lunch at Larry's Pizza along with several other local bikers doing the ride. Afterwards Annette and I went to Dickie Stephens Park to get my registration packet and look at the Expo they were having. I was a little disappointed in the Expo as there were only about 4 vendors there when we went. I did go ahead and buy me an official BDB Jersey. I needed another one anyway, though I won't wear it on Saturday since they say its bad luck to wear the race jersey/shirt on race day. Not sure if it is or not but I need all the luck I can get and I'm all about stacking the odds in my favor.

Here is a photo of the super cool jersey



Since I was pretty much worthless at work today and we were already in North Little Rock, I decided to head up towards Conway and follow some of the BDB route. Didn't look too intimidating until we turned on Rocky Gap Rd. off of 89 in Mayflower. Quite a few hills on this stretch but I have still done bigger so it should not be a problem. We ended up in Conway, fought the traffic around town and went by the Sporty Runner. Annette got a really cool new blinky light that had a magnet that holds it to your shirt or whatever. After that I had to stop by The Ride bike shop. I was wanting some gel gloves for the ride. The ones I had been using didn't have much padding so I figured now is the time to upgrade. With 100 miles ahead of me I need all the padding I can get! By the way, the people there are super nice as are the people at Sporty Runner. I will do business with both of these places again as they seem to not only want your business but ask if they can help you and are willing to answer questions.

After dropping $30+ dollars at The Ride, we cut back cross country on Hwy 286 following the BDB route again. Otto Rd is going to be interesting for sure. I had already done the hills on Fortson Rd so I know what I have there. Man, this is going to be a long ride for sure! I'm putting my Garmin on the bike as last night I finally figured out how to change it over to bicycle mode. I can get some good data from it after the ride that will help in future training. I am still debating on using the virtual partner for the bike ride and setting it up to go a certain MPH. Either way it will compliment my Cat Eye speedometer. Only thing I wish I had now was one that showed cadence. I may take a digital camera with me or if nothing else I will have my camera phone with me. It's just hard to remember to take photos sometimes so maybe I'll remember at some of the rest stops.

If you can't tell, I'm excited and can't wait to get going on this ride! 100 miles is a long way to pedal. I just want to have fun, have a decent time and most of all finish feeling good.