T minus 12 hours...

We all arrived in San Diego yesterday and spent today getting our motorhome and Chevy Suburban outfitted with light bars, signs, etc., getting our bikes inspected and doing last-minute bike repairs. Jay's derailleur hanger was bent on the airline so we dropped by the Encinitas Bicycle Retailer bike shop, where they bent it back without breaking it off (which would have ended Jay's race before it began).

Our Wildcats 4 Brett kit (jersey and bib shorts) came in from Hincapie Sports today so we'll try to get some pictures up soon.

The team, including riders and support crew (Scott Sherman's wife Sharon, his brother Mark, his friend Rick and Scott Forman's friend Hans), is primed and ready for action. A big thanks to the support crew for all their work today. A quick check of weather.com this evening showed the weather across the desert tomorrow (about 300 miles worth) is projected to be 93 degrees for the high with a 17 mph tailwind. We should be so lucky. Let's hope there is no online "observer effect," whereby the mere observation of an object online changes it.

Here's how we've planned the logistics of the relay: We'll break up into 2-man teams -- one team on duty with the follow car and the other team relaxing in the motorhome. Each 2-man team will be responsible for 4 to 8 hours of riding depending on terrain and weather conditions while the other team leapfrogs ahead in the motorhome to park (and sleep) at the projected switch point. The 2-man team on duty will alternate shifts so that only 1 person is riding at any given time. The team has debated the optimum length of each shift -- is it 1 hour? 2 hours? We really don't know.

The Scotts (Sherman and Forman) are taking the first 2-man shift out of Oceanside up over the coastal range and down into the desert at Borrego Springs, about 80 miles later. No warmup for those guys as they climb 4,000 feet from the gun. Jim and Jay will be waiting in Borrego Springs with fresh legs. Probably the last time we'll be able to say that!