Scranton! And a *&^%#! cold.

I'm here! The Hilton Scranton and Conference Center will be "home" for the next two days. An early dinner at 5 p.m. will get me in bed in time for plenty of sleep and a 4 a.m. wake-up. The morning ride to Forest City comes early to be in time for an 8 a.m. race start. The 26.2 mile race is point-to-point, Forest City to Scranton. The Forest City High School cheerleaders will give us a rousing send-off after the starting cannon (yes, cannon, really!) is fired. If I do well I'll finish about 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, a cold I have been fighting all week has fully blossomed, starting last night. Drat! As long as it doesn't drop into my chest, it's only uncomfortable. Here's hoping.

I'm in an even-numbered room, which puts me trackside, in view of the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad (a regional freight carrier), the 100+ year old Lackawanna Station (now home to a Radisson hotel), and the Steamtown National Historic Site. Who's better than me?

A big "shout out" here to CCGB Chief Operating Officer John Cottrell, who reviewed the shake down list with me for the laptop I've brought to Scranton. In passing he said, "In case they don't have wi-fi, use this blue connecting cable." Guess what? If he hadn't reviewed that with me, I'd probably be crazed for two hours figuring it out. Thanks, John!

The weather here is gorgeous: too gorgeous, with temps in the upper 70's and the same forecast for tomorrow afternoon after a 50 degree start. This range is a bit too warm for ideal racing. But as I guy I spoke to on the elevator said: "As slow as I run, it doesn't matter."

Otherwise, an uneventful drive to The Electric City and an uneventful race packet pick-up at Scranton High School made this an easy day. Off to dinner with friends. Keep me in your thoughts. The next post will be tomorrow afternoon with finishing times. Stay tuned!