With RAAM just over a week away, we thought things were going pretty well. The team had coalesced, all the gear had been procured, travel plans made, and excitement was building. Lesson number one, if things are too good to be true, it’s because they are too good to be true. Over the weekend, Jim Merchant, our RN/LMT was starting his journey west in the support vehicle with bikes and all the gear. Somewhere near El Paso, he was involved in a horrific rollover accident. He wound up in the hospital ICU with serious injuries, and the car and gear destroyed. He has since left the ICU, but is still in the hospital. I am on my way west now with Ross Parker and Adam Darby. We will try to salvage what we can from the car, and check on Jim. The gang at Infinity Bike Shop worked feverishly to make sure we had all the gear and bikes we needed, just in case. Thank you Lukas, Geoff, and Frank! But before we can get to El Paso, we must wait at the Mercedes dealership in Baton Rouge to have our Sprinter van fixed. Did I mention things had been going really well? Here is where perspective comes in. We are preparing for what is arguably the hardest bicycle race on the planet, but it is for a fantastic cause, “3000 Miles to a Cure”, a charity working to find a cure for brain cancer. Yes Jim had an accident, yes our support car is destroyed, and yes we are busted flat in Baton Rough (waiting for a train), but we will all live to talk about it. Those afflicted with brain cancer do not have that luxury, unless we find a cure. Please consider helping this great cause with a donation of any size. Fate will have to try a lot harder to keep us from that finish line in Annapolis, and to the finish line in the war on brain cancer!