Redlands is done

Dotsie showing her stuff in the break!

I don't think Tim knew I was ready to take the photo or else he was distracted by something shiny.

Me wondering where the forest part is?


The weekend has come and gone. In Sunday’s race Dotsie made the initial break and rode a smart race to take third. That moved her into 5th overall in the general classification and the team was second in the team classification.

The Sunset Circuit Race is one of the few road events that doesn’t have a follow caravan. Once the race started, my job as mechanic was done so I helped Tim in the feed zone. Having two people doing feeds is nice since the riders have two chances to get a bottle. It takes a good touch to hand a bottle to a moving rider and the ladies can appreciate a good feed. Feed zones are also good for doing paperwork and talking shop with the staff from the other teams.

One of the best things to hear from a rider is that “my bike worked awesome.” I love that and makes my day.

In addition to the riders that are in Redlands we have 3 Canadian riders that are at the Common Wealth Games in Australia. Sounds like Gina had a good ride getting 4th in the road race against some of the best of the best. At some point Gina, Sue, and Audrey will be back and it will be good to have the team all together again to kick some more butt.


For dinner we were treated to a whole lot of Thai food with our hosts. This was the only time I’ve been able to have dinner with everyone since I’ve been in Redlands. Usually I’m working on the bikes during that time of day. After dinner we were exposed to a Boba. The best way to describe it is a slushy with giant tapioca balls in it. I personally don’t get it. It was weird to suck up the balls through the oversize straw and have to chew them. I will leave Boba in California.

Today there wasn’t much to do so Tim and I went for a ride. We did the Oak Glen stage which has a long climb. It was so hazy looking down into the valley from the top I didn’t bother to take any pictures. The good thing about going up is you get to go down the other side. Sweet!

Often when I’m typing these blog entries I think I’m typing to my family, friends, and teammates only. Anyone is welcome to read it as I found out. Many folks already knew about the van troubles etc. I heard several times this past weekend, “ hey I’ve been reading your blog!” I met Sarah’s dad this weekend. Hello to Dan Tillotson! He also has an affection for guitars and of course he knew all about my adventures up to this point. By the way Dan and Pat, your daughter is tearing it up just in case she is too modest to tell you.

Cheers,
DOUG