The Countdown is On ~ 11 Days until the Cyclebetes National Relay begins.

11 days until the start of the 2011 Cyclebetes National Relay! 11 days until we ride 1045km from Vancouver, BC to Calgary, AB, to raise money and awareness for type 1 diabetes. 11 days. Wow.

Am I ready? I think so. I still have a little fundraising to do, and a few more hill training sessions, but I should be ready for the kickoff on August 13th. I've done loads of training over the past few months and logged hundreds of miles on my bike.

Am I excited? Extremely. Last year's ride was incredible. The scenery, the people, the support we received, all of it was magical. This year I'm thrilled that Vancouver is the launching pad of the ride, rather than the finale, and I'm super-psyched that the route has changed and that we're riding through towns I've never cycled in before. I know it will be an amazing experience again, and I look forward to blogging about it each day!

Am I nervous? Yeah, probably more than I should be. I know I've put in the work, but the hills involved this year do scare me. There are some serious elevation gains, as we have to go up and over two mountain ranges - the Coast Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. I'm not a fan of hills. I love riding on the flats, and I'm a bit of speed demon, so downhills excite me. I am much more comfortable doing 60km/hr on a twisty downhill than riding up a 10% grade. But I'll do it. For Dylan and the thousands of other people living with type 1 diabetes. And when the hills are really steep, and the pedaling really hard; when my thighs are burning and I'm gritting my teeth trying not to cry from the searing pain, I will think only of why I am doing this. To cure diabetes. Period. After all, a few hours of discomfort for me pales in comparison to what Dylan, and other type 1s live with each and every day.

Interested in riding with us for the kickoff community ride? Join us Saturday, August 13th, as we leave from John Henry Bikes in North Van at 10:00am, and ride with us to Squamish! Check out the following video for highlights of last year's 150km community ride from Hope to Vancouver to get an idea of what it entails! And visit Cyclebetes for full info on this year's ride.

Should you wish to donate to my 2011 Cyclebetes fundraising campaign, visit Cyclebetes - Jen Aragon. 100% of funds raised will be donated to JDRF.

And be sure to stay tuned to my blog as I countdown to this extraordinary journey!