and it gets closer

The check-in thing for the MS Bike Ride was a breeze. I walked in, handed them my little envelope of the contributions I collected that they didn't already have. They handed me my team t-shirt and jersey, and a bag with another t-shirt and jersey and a bunch of other stuff, most important of which (I think) is a little yellow armband with my rider number on it. I was done in under 2 minutes.

I stayed and talked to some of the other team members for a few. Most have done this thing before. One guy I've known for a long time (his wife, who is one of the team captains, worked with me in my previous job, and she does now) did it last year. Last year he trained a lot, kinda like I am this year. This year he's convinced - if you can ride 10 miles at a shot, you're ready. I'm not ready to go there. I have a feeling the truth lies somewhere in between what I'm doing and what he's doing, and I'll be more than ready. He's going to be in serious pain. I said, "See you in two weeks." He looked surprised. He asked his wife, "What happens in two weeks?"

"That's the weekend of the ride, Honey."

"Oh shit."