The adventure continues....

The adventure continues. Or is it just beginning ah, ah, ahhhhhhh! How do I begin? Its been a roller coaster ride with the van. At 7:30 this morning I was in the process of getting the van fixed. Needed a new catalytic converter. The other one blew apart. That should have been a signal of something more serious I would think. Thinking everything was fine, Tim and I were on the road again. A few hours later something went horribly wrong. Crawled along with the flashers going in the hopes of a least coasting towards some civilization. You know how you start wishing and wishing nothing is wrong. Maybe turning up the music so you can't hear the engine. Well, reality set in and decided to pull it over on I-80 near exit 51 in Iowa. Closest town Marne. I did see some grain silos in the distance. Luckily I have Tim with me so he turned around and we commenced calling AAA for a tow. I had a great conversation with Roxanne from AAA who arranged everything and we even shared a few laughs. We are going to get together when I head through Michigan (I'm kidding)

What can you do but laugh when your in the middle of corn country with Semi-trucks whizzing by. (Note to self. Pack a Frisbee in the van). See photos of this.

For those of you at home following along, I'm typing this from a Super 8 in Atlantic, Iowa. The van is getting a new engine installed so I'm having a little vacation of sorts for about 4 days if everything goes well. That's right. A new engine in the old girl. I guess Tom decided against taking her out to the field with a shotgun and putting her out of her misery.

This trip is just getting started. I will have so much blog material I think. I am smack in the middle of Americana. I can't wait to explore all that Atlantic has to offer. It has a Coca-Cola bottling plant and a Wally-Mart. I might be poking fun a little so I should say the folks who are fixing the van have been very helpful with me moving into town for my short stay. Diana offered to get me to the hotel, where the library is located, places to eat, and she knows a guy who can show me somewhere to
ride my bike. I always wanted to travel America away from the Interstates. You know, travel the backroads and see the real America. To discover that generally all people are good. So maybe that's what I'm doing afterall.

In case you are wondering we decided Tim will continue on and meet up with the team in Fresno. Unfortunately, I won't be there for the first race this weekend. I'm a little bummed about that. I was looking forward to meeting the new ladies and reuniting with others. Go win some flowers ladies. Now I'm getting really bummed. Atlantic, Iowa! This sucks!

Its supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow so I plan on going for a ride. I'll need to see about the coffee situation here too . Maybe visit the van in the shop. The farm tractor tires at the shop were interesting to look at. They are the mega huge ones. You would need a rather large tree to make a tire swing around here. I'll probably be pathetic and roam the isles of the Super Walmart too.

The wide main street in Atlantic's central business district is rowed with multi-story buildings and is reminiscent of Atlantic's early days as a main stop on the railroad. One thing has remained constant in Atlantic: its people. With community pride at heart, people in Atlantic have always worked together to make this a friendly place to call home.

Thanks for tuning in. Send me a comment or e-mail. Thanks!

DOUG

Mile 342

I had to cut today's drive short due to van issues. I'm bedding down in Grinnell, Iowa. I was hoping to get a little farther than this. I stopped once to try and fix it myself then stopped to find a mechanic. This nice guy sent me to a muffler shop. I'm sure those rough looking guys were ready to close up for the evening but they got me in. I'd like to say Kurt was the man, but 5 minutes down the road I could tell it was a little better but not much. Eventually the noise got worse than before and I crawled along until we found a place to stay. Scouted out some repair shops to hit up in the morning. Hopefully someone will understand how important it is in the world that Doug and his van get to Cali so that life can go on as we see fit. Silly isn't it to expect others to feel our pressure?

After Tim and I unloaded bikes and checked into our room we headed out for something to eat. Driving around in the Volvo we kept smelling the organic aroma of dog pooh. Each of us were asking "Did you step in something?" I could have sworn one of us did. I had to crack the window and check the soles of my brand new sneakers at a stop light. (By the way, I felt like it was the first day of school with my new kicks and jeans). We settled on a pizza joint that was open. Once we got out of the car, we realized it was the town that smells like dog crap. That was a good chuckle! I'm not sure why this town smells the way it does. Its the middle of winter for manure. Papermill? I thought it would be awkward to ask the waitress why the town she lives in smells like dog crap so I didn't.

For the rest of the night I need to forget about the van and get some rest. I'll see what tomorrow brings.

Cheers,
DOUG

Mile Zero

The van is packed and we're hitting the road. Compared to last year, everything fit into the van. Although I don't like packing the van I don't want anyone else doing either. Is that weird. I must have control issues. I approach the process like its a big puzzle. Everything has its place.

Its 24 degrees outside. Everyday we'll be approaching warmer temps. Oh yeah!

Cheers For Now,
DOUG

New Blog In The House

Well its about time I got this blog thing together. I've been threatening to create one. Like Garrett Peltonen says, "You are not pro until you have a blog!" I feel like I'm typing to the world now and it feels strange. Like being on a stage or something.

Although I'm not a professional cyclist, I am a professional bike team mechanic. One of the behind-the-scenes guy on a team that people don't see. I haven't seen many blogs for us mechanics out there yet, so here we go. This blog is also so my family and friends might have some idea of what I'm doing.

I'm leaving Wisconsin on Monday morning (2/27) for California to get the season started. Although the racing schedule is just starting, a lot of prep work has already gone on since last October to get this point. I feel this blog start is a good way to start the whole circus rolling, so check back for the updates etc.

I'm still figuring the blog spot out so I'll get some pictures going soon. That's mostly why I visit blogs. To see the photos.

Cheers,
DJB