(I misplaced my camera in Taiwan so I’ve been without one to post any pictures. I’ve scrounged up a few here and there from friends.
In Taiwan sometimes I felt like I had my own fans. Groups of folks were curious about a lot of things. Here I'm just doing some random adjustments.
After the Taiwan trip, Tristan and I drove the Timex truck out to Oceanside, CA for California 70.3 and then Carlsbad, CA for the Timex Team Camp. Camp was good and there are some characters on the team.
Back to Milwaukee for a bit then drove a Team Type 1 van down to Atlanta, GA to meet up with Chris Jones and Valery Kobzarenko to preview two stages of the Tour of Georgia route. We previewed the Brasstown Bald and Dahlonega days. Very pretty and mountainous are two words that come to mind. Met a local hotel owner in some town who offered us a discount on some rooms one night. That was very much appreciated.
Tour of Georgia! When looking back at this year’s race it will be remembered for a few things. The Team placed 4 guys in the top twenty GC, At the Brasstown Bald finish, Moises finished 6th and the team had 4 or 5 guys that day in the top 17 (I may have some of the facts wrong but you get the idea). In the team overall GC we were 3rd. Just behind and ahead of some of the biggest teams out there.
The most memorable part for the staff was the truck breaking down in the center lane of I-85 in Atlanta traffic. I happened to be driving the truck and when traffic started to slow down (because it’s always congested in Atlanta isn’t it) I tried to downshift only to discover that the clutch was gone and I couldn’t get it into another gear. I wouldn’t say I was in panic mode (okay I was sort of) but what was I to do. I was coasting to a dead stop and thinking I was going to cause a multi car pile up. Fortunately, I did not end up as the nightly news story.
I was literally stuck. There was no way I was opening a door into the 80mph traffic whizzing by. I figured the only thing to do was call 911. While waiting for the police I did get a phone call from a friend who sensed my stress level and calmed me down. How she knew the right time to call was weird.
Talk about throwing a wrench into the gears. Having the truck out of service made the rest of the week a bit hectic. Trying to arrange the repair and getting a rental truck all the while tending to the race job was not ideal but to the credit of all the staff we got things done. Staff teamwork gets a reward.
The previous day the Health/Net car accidently rear ended the BMC car. Ed decided to be a little sarcastic so we attached a pillow to our bumper. This is me running to remove it since we only wanted to display such behavior for one lap. By the way this picture made it to the velonews website. I knew one day I'd get my mug in there. Thanks to my friends who saw it.
Beyond the Tour of Georgia things did not slow down. Logistically we had to arrange plans to go to the wind tunnel in North Carolina without the truck. Once again it got done somehow. While Eric and Chris did the wind tunnel trip I stuck around Atlanta to wait on the truck repairs and relax. Yeah right! There was no relaxing. I felt like I drove around Atlanta for two days. I don’t care for Atlanta at all. Never have and now definitely never will.
One of my zombie stories was trying to convince the front desk staff that it was okay with Tom Schuler if I went into his room. I realize they were just following policy but I kept it together and tried my best to name drop and use some humor. Eventually I appealed to the manager’s sense of being over worked and explained to her that I felt like I’d been up for 10 days without sleep. I even asked her that if I slept on the couch in the lobby, would they wake me up. After Kevin Livingston helped to explain the situation, I was given a key to the room. When I offered to get something for the desk staff they politely declined and in unison exclaimed, “ Go get some sleep!”
The truck was fixed and on it’s way to New Jersey with Eric. Next up for me? A week traveling the South (Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia) with some of the riders for a bunch of crits. Once again it was all about driving somewhere, racing, spending the night and driving to the next race. I did get to ride on a couple mornings, which was literally a breath of fresh air as I’ve had very little time to get any riding in.
Walterboro, SC - Man! Do I always look that bored? I'm not bored just observing every thing around me.
Here I am providing some info on the radio to the guys. I was probably saying things like, "The four man break is lapping the field", "Do not sprint for the Mavic wheelset prime. I don't want to carry them around in the van."
One of the highlights was catching up with the ladies from Colavita. I miss working with them so it was nice to hear they miss my skills too. Sniffle, sniffle!
After the last crit, I dropped the riders off in Atlanta (once again in Atlanta!) and Arkansas was the next destination. Fayetteville to be exact. The first day of driving was a waste. I think I only drove far enough to get away from Atlanta and had to pull over to take a nap somewhere in Alabama. Even after a 3-hour sleep in the van, I was only able to drive a few more hours before finding a hotel. That night I was in bed by 7:30 and woke up the next morning very hungry but refreshed.
Fayetteville, AR was the host for the Joe Martin Stage Race. I like Fayetteville for some reason. It’s a small city and there is a bunch of back roads within proximity for riding. They also have a great burrito place. Flying Burrito is worth the trip. The race was fine from what I remember and got to hang with my pal Timmy who is running the Advil/Chapstick women’s team. Also got to catch up with Sue Palmer-Komar over some Cuban Burgers at their host house. Hey Sue!
Onto the Tour of Arkansas next. Russelville, AR for two nights and Fort Smith, AR for two nights. Glenn Chadwick won the race. Orbea gave us some blue 2009 frames to swap in for our current white frames. People were down home nice. I even celebrated my 21st birthday at a Fort Smith restaurant. The staff sang me happy birthday and everything. I have Ed and his big mouth to thank for that one. I know I look young but they were a bit too gullible. Or… maybe they were putting me on too! Hmm, something to think about.
One week in Milwaukee has gone by fast. Sleeping in my own bed is NICE. Making my own oatmeal in the morning is REFRESHING. Getting to ride my own bikes…PRICELESS! I feel more normal now that I’ve been getting some riding in. Even the mtn bike trails are rocking. The local set of trails has been expanded a bit. Sweet! I’ve claimed this past week and the remainder of this week as my own personal training camp. My goal is to ride everyday. So far so good. Today my legs were actually tired from yesterday’s ride. That feels good and I can’t wait to ride tomorrow.
In case your wondering, I have been doing some work in the shop too. But 5 weeks on the road (down south ya’ll), deserves a break to re-charge for the next block of racing. On Friday I fly to New Jersey (ouch!) to meet up with the truck. Arlington, VA, Lancaster, PA, Reading, PA and then Philadelphia, PA. After Philly it’s dine and dash to Minnesota for Nature Valley.
Enjoy Ya’ll
When are we going running?
