In the Flesh...

It's Phil Liggett...the greatest sports commentator ever to live! This guy is the coolest. I got to see him live tonight at Wheat Ridge Cyclery's remodeling ceremony (it's massive. I prefer the small, friendly bike shops like MOB), but it's better to see Ron Kiefel doing well versus some other massive shops in town under evil management. There were thousands of people there tonight, so no autograph from Phil.

Spring Cleaning

It doesn't quite feel like spring yet, but I've got the spring cleaning bug. A case of these sodas has been hogging valuable fridge space for quite some time now. They're heading to work tomorrow. ...and the carb-less beer that was taking up more fridge space is now in the queue for hair conditioning treatments.

Finally, Valley of the Sun Pictures

Looking down at snowy Colorado as we get on our way to Phoenix.

I'm not joking when I say we packed light.
We immediately went to Cactus bikes, a mountain/downhill bike shop. They were really cool to let us use their tools to get our bikes back together. Alright, I admit, I got a lot of help working on my bike (this was the most I've ever seen any of my bikes apart, it was a bit unnerving).

Back Home/Crit Report

Just a quick entry to say we made it back to Colorado. I tried to keep us in Arizona by locking the key to the car in the car. Tactic didn't work, though. Cari was a awesome to travel with, just like last time, but she didn't freak (or at least she didn't kill me) when I left the key in the car. Most people would have and it was so much more pleasant thanks to her. And she had a great race (taking 1st cat 3 in the crit and 2nd overall for the weekend). It was fun to live vicariously through her. The awards were so cool--license plates! I give them credit for doing something completely different. I was happy to live through the crit, got stuck behind a crash and didn't realize I was allowed to take a free lap (I'm only used to getting free laps when I have road rash to show that I was held up on the course). Honestly, I just wanted to stay safe yesterday. There was one bad crash and a slow-speed mass crash (that's the one I got stuck in). Lying on the car waiting for the locksmith to come yesterday evening was the best. It was finally a chance to soak in the evening, the open sky, think about the weekend and it was a chance to do absolutely nothing. I got home just before midnight. I think I'm ready to start the week. Today's a rest day. This served as great motivation and I know my body is ready to step up for the rest of the season.

Oh, I'm sorry if I promised to call you this weekend. There was so much less time than I expected out there (especially since we were in a rush from the moment the plane landed in Phoenix). Will try to return calls and get life back in order this weekend.

Pics

Scenery from the start of the road race. The entire course was similar, with a cactus here and there to decorate the landscape.

Arizona's Windy and Hot...it's PERFECT here

Wow, to get a long ride in today...oh, I mean race...but who cares? It was 3 1/2 hours in the saddle actually moving somewhere (vs the trainer). This is a great way to start the season. My results are not publishable (I don't know what place I got today), but that's not what this weekend is about. Today was a 57 mile road race. It was so hot out there and the wind made it kind of sketchy so the combination of the two made it difficult to drink anything for the full first hour (when I was with the pack). Then I got blown off the back and rode two laps alone. It's clear I'm stronger than last year, my fitness is much better so that's good. It's been a great weekend living-wise, it's like being with family with all of the comforts of home. After the race today, we hot tubbed (the jets did the trick on our sore bodies) and had a wonderful meal (salmon, cooked to perfection) with our host "parents." After this entry, it's time to catch some zzz's and see if it's possible to have race legs again for tomorrow's crit. So far, my body isn't complaining much and seems to be pretty happy to be working hard.

TT

Today was the TT, the very first race of the year. It was like summer here, perfect sky all day, strong sun, smiling people. The TT was fabulous. Oh, my time wasn't anything to write home about, but it felt good. I worked hard & my heart got to beat faster than it has in over 5 months. They had a ramp to start off on! That was a cool way to get it going. Sorry about no pics being posted yet, they'll be here eventually.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

This is sleep blogging. After not sleeping enough, you're going to get my stream-of-lack-of-consciousness post. today was one rough traveling day, draining emotionally as well as physically. honestly, the time spent at the airports (denver and albuqueque) was pretty nice. got some work done and hung out comfortably, but there was a fair amount of stress not knowing if our stuff would arrive & being really pressed for time this evening. cari and i, i'm happy to report, made it safely and had a wonderful dinner with our host family (amy's parents). they are so sweet and have made us feel at home. wow, there are desert plants (big cactus, palm-like trees) here and nothing white blanketing the ground. it's warm and the people are very friendly. we got to know the local bike shop really well--they cleared out a mechanics station for us and helped us put our bikes together. the bikes are together and are as good as new, too bad the motor on mine is shot.

on that note, it's time to make up for lack of quality sleep the past few nights.

Let Us Out!!!

Stuck in DIA...getting to AZ by 5 tonight...considering how early i woke up this morning, this seems like a bad dream.