Carlsbad, CA - Man oh man! What day is it? It feels like Monday morning but it's actually...let me see...Wednesday. That's what happens when I'm so busy. everyday becomes like the one previous. Camp is over for these tri folks. A lot was accomplished. Although once again most of what I saw was from the back of the truck. This year at least I had some help from, "the new guy", Tristan. Tristan was awesome and a HUGE help getting everyone's bike requests done. We had a bunch of this and that work to do. Besides the long hours of standing in the parking lot we did have some time to interact with the athletes. It was great to see the returning athletes from the last couple of years and to meet the new ones. All in all the camp seemed to be a huge success. Everyone left with some great product and product knowledge. I really feel that Timex has some great sponsors and folks associated with the team. Everyone from the athletes to staff to sponsor contacts are happy with the TIMEX vibe. Way to go everyone!
Here are few pictures from camp that I remembered to take. Enjoy!
Yes, I swear I was very busy most of the time. But that doesn't mean you should ignore the tennis ball launcher. This is Chris T. pumping up the gun to the ideal psi.
"Fire in the hole!" Moments before shooting. Don't try this at home and don't let the athletes see you playing around because they will want to try it too. HA! Notice another excellent use for a Park bike stand. I wonder if Park would put that in their catalog?
The day started every morning with a 6am gathering at the truck. From here athletes had a few hours to bike or run or swim.
There was always the last minute bike adjustments too. I heard many times "Can I borrow an alen wrench". I often cringe when I'm asked that. I don't like lending out my tools. Sometimes they don't get put back so then I have to hunt around for it wasting time. I don't want to seem mean but it can make a 2 minute adjustment a ten minute job when I can't find the right tool. My tip of the day when working with team mechanics is to ask politely, return promptly, never reach into their tool box, and expect a no response sometimes. By the way it doesn't hurt to butter us up with cold drinks, coffee, chocolate chip cookies, lunch, shoulder massage..........
This particular morning was a few days into camp. People were familiar with one another now. This impromptu circle started to form. "oh boy" I thought to myself, "something is going to happen." Alas, noone started break dancing or anything. Just some talk about socks vs. no socks. A brief exclamation by Carol announcing that "THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY RUN THAT GOES AS FAR AS THE STARBUCKS", and a few stretches thrown in before the pitter patter of sneaker rubber hit the streets.
John the photographer catching all the goings on. His camera is bigger than mine.
The bike. Happy to be working the Trek bikes. The athletes have been giving great reviews. Dean Gore and Scott Daubert from Bontrager and Trek were here to check things out and answer everyone's questions. They both gave some informative presentations and I had some good one on one with these guys about the machines. Glad they came out and that Trek is happy to be supporting the Team.
A mechanics lunch sometimes. Ah, that picture says a lot. Mostly, it says I'm too busy to eat so put my sandwich on the cleanest place possible for later.
"So Tristan! The waves were awesome this morning dude! I've never been surfing before but it's like I was born to do it. I was riding the wave like this when..."
Hope you enjoyed the pics. Today my plan is to head to Tucson, AZ to visit some friends for a much needed break for about a week before flying to Georgia for the Tour of Georgia. Before I leave though I'm going to go down to the ocean. I'm right on the ocean and haven't even stuck my toes in the sand. That is my plan this morning to say I've been there. I tried the other night but the parking areas were closed.
Later,
DJB
