And they're off! A couple of notes as we begin the ride.

Tonight's the night when it all begins. The team has already packed their bikes and started to make their way out east on Amtrak, and our support vehicle will be on it's way shortly, ready to meet them when they arrive in New York City.As we begin another summer, it is important to note some of the changes and features of the website. Certainly there will be more posts, usually daily updates from the team (depending on internet access/phone service) and hopefully weekly updates from all of the riders. If for some reason you miss some of these posts, you can find old postings in our News Archive. We have also increased the number of recent rider postings on the right hand column of the website, but if you'd like to see older postings, you can see them in the Rider Blog. The last point about team and rider posts, if you're technology minded, we have RSS feeds setup of all our front page news, rider blog posts, and both combined.You can also comment on our rider and team postings, however please note that the first time you comment, the comment will need to be approved by either the rider, or the site administrator. This process can take several days depending on internet access. Also keep in mind that using generic family relationships (such as "Dad", "Grandma", etc) as your Name can lead to confusion, especially if you comment on another rider's post. Please use either your full name, or add who you are related to in the Name field (i.e. "Robert's Dad"). Comments which do not meet these guidelines will not be approved.You may have also noticed that our Rider Spotlight section has been replaced with Send us Mail!. This feature provides the nearest Post Office to each of our Event Day stayover locations. By using the arrows above and below, you can scroll to the different Event Day locations and find the appropriate Post Office to send your letter or package. Please allow at least 3 days for delivery and let your rider know that they should expect to pick something up at the Post Office.Finally, in addition to making daily blog postings, the team also keeps a photo album which we hope to update on a daily basis as well. You can see this album, and others, by visiting our Photos and Videos section. Each ride also has the ability to create their own personal photo albums on their profile page, so encourage your ride to upload a few photos of their experiences.That's about all for now, but keep coming back as we make our way across the country this summer!~Erik VolkmanDirector of Information - Illini 4000 for Cancer