Currently, all of the rides I do are in preparation for riding the STP in one day. The route from Seattle to Portland is approximately 202 miles. That is a lot for one day of cycling, no matter how in shape you are! It is only four weeks away now, so my long rides are definitely getting long. Last Saturday I rode 97.4 miles in the Flying Wheels Summer Century. My elapsed time (from start to finish line) was 6:25. On Sunday, I rode out to the Alki Point Lighthouse and back. That was just a touch over 33 miles. It took me more than three hours, but I was not in a hurry at all and actually stopped for lunch.

These long rides show me parts of the state–and parts of myself–that I have never really seen. I mean, sure; I have driven there … but the experience you have while driving through a place is very different from the experience you have while pedaling to and through it. I remember when I rode through Monroe for the first time. I almost didn’t recognize where we were–it was like I had never been there before. I thought to myself how far it is to just to drive to Monroe. And here I was having gotten there on a bike. It was an enlightening and inspirational moment. I had truly managed to amaze myself.

If you had told me six months ago that I would be doing this, I would have thought you were nuts. Now, I just think I am nuts. But craziness aside, doing these rides has been an incredible experience.

“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” ~Ernest Hemingway

If you are at all inspired and want to support a great cause, please consider donating on behalf of my efforts. I am using my STP ride to raise money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. You can donate online at http://bit.ly/STPforWWP-Kaia, donate by check by printing out this form, or even join the team and raise your own funds.

This year’s theme is He Au Hou i ka ‘Eheu o ka Noio (or “A New Era on the Wings of a Noio”).

According to Diana Bertsch, the theme is about “embracing change and welcoming new beginnings.” She wrote, “The Noio was an important bird to the Native Hawaiian sailor. The Noio is a land bird and typically travels no more than 40 miles offshore. If a Noio bird was sighted at sea, it was understood that new beginnings were ahead — land meant a new life. During times of change and new beginnings there is always hope in the wind and in the currents that carry us …”

After being forced to go digital in order to maintain access to broadcast TV, I found a new favorite station — Universal Sports. Through their ever-changing lineup, I have been able to watch coverage of a few of the past Ironman World Championships. Hearing the reasons the athletes compete, watching their incredible physical endurance, and bearing witness to their mental fortitude is almost always inspirational … and very often quite humbling.

My favorite athletes going into this year’s Worlds are Normann Stadler (38/MPRO) and Sister Madonna Buder (79/W75-79). To me, Normann Stadler represents the quintessential athlete. (It doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty easy on the eyes either.) Sister Madonna is a 79-year-old nun who hails from Spokane, WA, and the oldest woman ever to finish an Ironman.

The Ironman World Championship is this Saturday. Watch. And be inspired.

Universal Sports will broadcast live from Kona on October 10, 2009.