Where to begin? The beginning I s’pose.
Did the big drive with my man Chris E. He is a good guy to travel with. Can drive the long haul and doesn’t whine. We made it all the way to Reno for lunch at In-N-Out. I’ll go ahead and tell you that this story ends with me 10 pounds fatter. Waaaaahhh.
Anyway, we made it in. We stayed at Kelly’s uncle house, which is conveniently like 4 miles from Laguna Seca. We were pretty much worked. Thursday was a beautiful day. Mid 70’s, light breeze. What a tease. Got out for a solid cruise after the expo shut down.
The rest of the week was windy as something quite windy, highlighted by Saturday’s 40mph sustained winds. Saturday was the day that our reinforcements arrived, so I got to do the NRC bike race. Lemme tell ya, it is hard to feel good after standing in the wind all day long. I sucked. I am not saying I’d have been “the man” had I not been standing around in the wind all week, but I might have been better. In any case, Successful Living put on a show and had 3 guys in the break with Maori Bike Warrior, Dave Clinger. I don’t know why this race shines on them, as they pulled off a similar feat last year.
That night we went to a party that VeloNews threw. As most readers can imagine, I am not the awesomest at partying it up.
I got into a conversation with a pro biker chick, and she said “You’re pretty serious (about racing), right?”
My response was “not at all”, but when I think about it I should have said “Compared to some”, because like all things it is relative. Most people on the street would say I am serious, but not compared to someone trying to make a living at it, that’s for sure. Anyway, that’s probably a fairly irrelevant story.
Sunday was another day of standing in the wind, but thankfully it was not nearly as bad as Saturday. We packed the crap up and I actually went out for a mountain bike ride on Jeremy’s new Niner. It was sweet. I think for a big dude (such as myself) 29ers are the way to go. I’m pretty sure I’ll pop for one as soon as I have a TT bike and a track bike. And by that I mean, not soon.
That night Chris and I went out to fancy schmancy dinner. Yeah, it was romantic. Seriously though, it’s pretty sad as Kelly and I have only been to such a nice place once or twice. I am glad I married someone as cheap frugal as I.
Today we drove home. It was arduous, but more stimulating than being in the office. We conveniently found ourselves at In-N-Out in Reno again.
I am sure there’s lots I am forgetting. Maybe I’ll say more later. Maybe not.
I just re-read this post. It is whiny. I guess, I am just tired, but don’t get me wrong. I was stoked to get out of the office and to get to experience the event. I met some really cool people, and that’s what it’s all about.
Good times.
Oh yeah, and I did manage to see an otter this year, so that was a bonus.
