I've been on a bike as long as I can remember. I started the way we all do, I guess. Tricycle. Then training wheels, BMX, a little bit of road biking back when ten speeds really were only ten speeds. I grew up in the middle of the Adirondacks, so with all of the trails available, mountain biking became one of my great loves.

It wasn't until I met Lance Gregson on a job a few years ago that I came back to road bikes. He showed up on the job with his bike on the rack, and we wound up chatting. In the back of my young-punk head, I was sort of thinking "I bet I can keep up with this old guy." Turns out I was wrong. As any of you that had the chance to ride with him know, he was crazy and he LOVED hill climbs.

So I wound up buying one of his old road bikes, which is still my trainer and spring touring bike now. We both already knew Mark Nassan, and we all started doing quite a bit of riding together. I've ridden a few races, two of which were sponsored by Mark and his shop, LeepOff Cycles. I've never done a tour before, especially one of this magnitude. I'm a little nervous, but I'm looking forward to it.

As for why I'm doing it, there are a couple reasons. Lance had mentioned it last year, but I broke my arm just doing spring tune-ups on my bikes, and that was a major set back in my riding last season. And I can tell you there was no shortage of jokes about me considering going back to the training wheel option.

So I couldn't do it last year, and now that one of the rides is a memorial to Lance, I really want to do the tour. And I am a sucker for a good cause. I am a member of a few other organizations, such as the Shiners, IMBA, and the Adirondack Mountain Club. It is an honor to me to be invited to join the tour, and a pleasure to have the chance to help a good cause, in memory of a great friend.