837

Momentus day today...for the first time...ever....I got over eight hundred miles on my bike(s) in a single month! I totaled out to 837.1 miles for all of July. Even back when I was racing a lot I rarely got over 700 miles each month. So now I'm nearly at 3,400 miles for the year and I think I may get six-thou-plus if I keep to a steady schedule. If I hadn't waited until March to really start riding................

Easy ride with Bridget and Jonnene tonight. Bridget's training for an Ironman triathlon at the end of August in Kentucky. Jonnene has been riding with her most of the time to keep her company and help her with the training. Tonight she had to do ten 5-minute intervals, so I tagged along, did several at her pace and one time I did a nice steady 25 mph effort on my own to keep my legs loose. I leave tomorrow morning to do the Texas State Time Trial Championships in Pattison and I hope I do okay. This ride is more to get an idea of where my fitness is for the Louisiana TT in September, so I'm not too concerned with my placement but I hope my effort is decent. Then I'll have five weeks to get better!

Withdrawal pain

Aaaaakkkk! After three weeks of enjoying hours of coverage of the Tour de France on Versus, suddenly today and tonight there is NOTHING!!

I don't know what to do.

Is there anything else worth watching on the flat-screen?

Stick a Fork in Me....

Sunday's Cat. 1-2-3 criterium

Just spent the weekend in Lafayette doing the Tour de Vuelta stage race. Two days of three stages of bike racing and I am whipped! First stage race I've done in 3-4 years...maybe I'll do some more next year...none left that I want to do this year. Jonnene didn't come with me since her weekends from here on are gonna be kinda busy so I told her that she needs to spend a nice weekend at home just vegging out and relaxing. And she did, too...got a lot of stuff done, finished a book, did some repair work on the irrigation system in the yard...I think it was good for her. Oh, yeah, I missed her alright and we're not going to do this very often. But every once in a while is fine.

Headed for Lafayette Friday afternoon, got a good night's sleep at the Comfort Inn, and headed to the site of Saturday morning's road race. I was in the Masters 35+ race where we had to cover 48 miles on board-flat roads among the sugar cane fields. Plus there was a nice wind coming out of the west, which would be interesting because the last 5K of each 16-mile lap was a bee-line to the finish. We'd have a tailwind so it'd be real fast. My concern was just surviving the race and not coming in solo behind everyone else. A flat course means you get very little rest, you're always having to pedal so drafting is important if you need to take a break.

We started at 8:20 am and soon our little group of 17 riders is cruising at 26 mph and it's not so bad for me. The speed would ramp up sometimes but I was handling it well and even chased down a couple of attempted breaks. We had two large teams represented: Jeep/CJB with seven riders and MidSouth Masters with three. The rest of us were lonely reps of whatever team we were riding for, so we knew that Jeep and MidSouth would be trying to get some of their guys off the front on a few breakaway attempts. During the first lap none of that succeeded, so we turned into the straight 5K (3.1 mile) stretch to the finish we were hitting 30-33 mph. When we passed the one kilometer to go sign, everyone started attacking to get one of the two hot spot time bonuses. I stayed in the back (I got no sprint) and just kept up best I could. I crossed the line of Lap One at 37 mph and I heard later that the two guys who got the bonuses were topping 40 mph! Our average speed for that lap was 24.6 mph.

The pack broke apart halfway thru the second lap when Jeep and MidSouth sent off three each of their riders and started gapping the rest of us. I was in the back when it started and started wondering why nobody in our group was going after them. Then I saw Randy of the New Orleans team bridge the gap to the front group by himself, dragging another rider with him. I thought about jumping up to them at that point but then realized I'd have to go around six other riders, bridge a longer gap, and then hope I'd have enough energy left to hang to that group. It was frustrating because I knew I could bridge up but I didn't want to burn myself out with 24 miles to go. So I sat with my group and that's where I'd stay for the rest of the race. There was myself, VJ of the NBO team, an unattached rider, and three Jeep guys...we had dropped the other rider by then...and we just rode on. Finally, we finished the last lap going about 34 mph and I got group time with those guys. Surprisingly, we were less than 4 minutes behind the lead group...I thought we'd be 7-10 minutes back the way they took off from us and got out of sight. So I was in 16th place and survived the first stage.

I put everything up in the car and headed back to the hotel. I had 5 hours until the time trial late in the afternoon so I had lunch and took a 90-minute power nap (nice!). Headed back to the race site for the TT, parked the car near a tree which would cover the car with shade as the sun went down. My legs felt toasted and tired but I tried to warm them up and get ready for the pain. The time trial was 3.75 miles (later we determined it was closer to 3.9 miles) into the wind. My goal was to keep my run under 10 minutes, accounting for the tiredness in my legs and the headwind, and I ended up with a 9:51 which moved me up a spot to 15th place. And it did hurt.

Watched the time trial in the Tour de France that night in the hotel room, slept the sleep of the dead overnight, got up Sunday morning for the criterium stage north of Lafayette. It was freakin' HOT out there and I tried to stay hydrated. As soon as the gun went off, Heath shot out of the blocks like a bullet while I was still trying to get my foot into the pedal. Got it in, and had to work like crazy to catch up to the pack. This was my first criterium in 4 or 5 years and it showed. I felt awkward out there, especially in the corners and we had a headwind on the backside. I managed to stay with the pack for the first two laps, then I was off the back and that's pretty much where I stayed the rest of the race. Thanks to attrition during the race I would end up in 13th place overall which means I get to contribute some LA/MISS cycling cup points to my team.

I had a lot of fun but it was hard, it was hot out there, and I still have some conditioning that needs to be done. But I'm heading to Houston this Friday for the Texas State Time Trial Championships as training for the LA/MISS time trials in September. I'm going to see what I need to do for training in the intervening five weeks.

Lots done

You can tell the change in the daylight these mornings now...it's staying darker a few minutes later. It's been almost a full month since the longest day of the year. I'm also seeing some hardwood leaves on the ground but I think the summer heat has something to do with that. But it does make you wonder about the fall coming up.

I did an easy 40-miler with Mack this morning, averaging about 17-18 mph and it was nice. We talked about a lot of stuff and weren't tempted in the least about trying any hard efforts. I did some standing-on-the-pedals work but that was about it. I'm still looking at doing the stage race in Lafayette this weekend and I have until Thursday night to pre-register for it. I'm already committed to doing the time trial in Houston the following weekend and will be back in time to see Jonnene do the River Cities Triathlon here.

I ran a bunch of small errands today, the ones that you keep putting off because they're not worth the drive by themselves. I finally had saved up enough of them and went after it. Got my passport out of the safe deposit box so I can get my Australia visa taken care of. Drop off some papers to my financial adviser. Delivered stuff to the recyclers. Got LUNCH! Got some go-juice for my truck. Straightened out (I hope) a problem with our billing in regards to the city utility department...in our favor.

And there's still so much more to do.

Just Weight a Minute

Good stage today in Le Tour. American Danny Pate (Garmin-Chipotle) got third in a steep climb to the finish as part of a 4-man break. He was at first disappointed but later realized what a great ride he had been a part of.

I'm two weeks away from the time trial in Texas and I'm starting to think about my TT bike position and other things...like weight. I pulled out the Shimano pedals that originally came with my Guru bike and weighed them against the Look pedals I had installed. Came up with a difference of 120 grams, the Shimano's being lighter. Then I pulled out my old pair of Diadora shoes that I haven't worn in a long while and they were 70 grams lighter than the Shimano shoes I usually use. Hmmm, it didn't take much to realize I could save almost 200 grams (6.7 ounces) by using the lighter pedals and shoes (lighter moving parts, like pedals, are always a bonus) so I made the changes and will try them out on the Monday morning ride. The Shimano pedals have a floating system in them that I'll have to get used to...I like the locked-in feeling of my Look pedals with the black cleats.

No riding today. Jonnene and I spent most of the day out in the back yard trimming bushes, raking, pulling up ferns we didn't want, and a lot of other things we've been neglecting. The place looks a lot neater and we'll be sore tomorrow, but not from cycling!

Dig this photo below. Johnny Cobb is famous in the cycling world for fitting Lance Armstrong to his TT bike to win all those Tours and heads up Blackwell Research, located in Tyler, Texas. He's originally from Shreveport and I do a few things for him on occasion in regards to the biking bizness. Anyway, he does lots of bike fittings for racers and triathletes plus he gets some famous folks who drop in to be fitted to their bikes......
....such as "Dr. McDreamy" from the ABC show Grey's Anatomy. Patrick Dempsey (at left, of course) dropped in on JC's shop in Tyler for a special fitting to his bike from "The Man". Johnny wasn't all that impressed that the guy was an actor but when he found out that the guy liked race cars then things were okay. They also had to deal with all the girls who kept dropping in during the fitting!

Good Day

Had a great ride this morning...knocked out 73 miles at a near race pace and I felt pretty good the entire ride, not just parts of it as in rides before. Maybe I'm getting into some kind of decent shape? Jason did most of the pulls as part of his workout and wasn't putting the hammer on us. I was able to keep up with him pretty easily and bridged up to him whenever he started to gap us. Speeds in the 25-27 mph range were pretty normal on this ride. That's a good sign for the races next weekend in Lafayette! Plus, Jonnene gave me a nice leg massage later in the afternoon. Tomorrow will be an easy ride to work out any soreness.

Yesterday was Mrs. Brakhage's funeral and it was a good one. I was one of the pallbearers and we did a great job...didn't drop her once! Carrying a casket is a bit of work. Those things are heavy and all the bearers have to carry their "load" equally. But the thing is that this is an honor and a privilege, and a form of expression for us to show how much we cared for the person going to their final resting place. We carry them gently and with extreme tenderness, and the weight of the casket does not matter. We will carry it as far as we have to because we want to do this for the family.

It was myself and Kent (friends of the family) and four of the grandsons doing the heavy lifting. The grandsons, including my god-son Eric, were doing this for the first time and I told them that they'll probably get more opportunities as the years go by. Anyway, the service was like a Lutheran church service. Pastor Kunz came over from Bossier to preside, he gave a personal sermon aimed both at the family and at us..."Someday when I, or you, are the Guest of Honor, what do you want people to say about you?"...and spoke glowingly of Mrs. B's life and her legacy. We sang two songs that were her favorites, "I Love to Tell the Story" and "I Know My Redeemer Lives". It was pretty cool. Then we went out to the gravesite and she was rested next to Mr. Brakhage.

I took some time to visit my grandparents who are buried at the same cemetary. Then, after the graveside services were over, Steve, Kent, and I went to visit Steve's sister and mother who are also there. It was nice and reassuring and we told a few stories about Lee Ann, his sister (she was a hoot and so funny...but died of Hogkins Disease). I think she would have enjoyed it...maybe she was laughing with us?

Jonnene did some triathlon training with Bridget this morning while I was out doing my long distance speed fest. I think she'll do fine at the local triathlon on August 3rd. The run will be the big deal as she'll see how her knee does but I'm not expecting any problems. I just hope it isn't too hot.

Hydrating is good for you

Tim and I went out late yesterday afternoon and did intervals on our time trial bikes. His left hamstring is still bothering him and I was still worn from the hammer-fest on Tuesday night but we gave it a shot. It wasn't pretty but, as Tim said, it's better to be out there doing this than nothing. After about 90 minutes, we were cooked and done and headed home. That night I drank four glasses of water, a glass of chocolate milk, and a glass of V8 Fusion along with half of a 14" pizza...and I didn't feel full at all. And I didn't pee until I woke up this morning! I didn't think I was that dehydrated (I drank all the water and energy drink I had on the ride) and didn't feel bad but I'll do better with the fluids from now on.

Fast

Tuesday Night Worlds was fast. I rode to the ride from the house so I wouldn't have to use the gas in the truck (just doing my part to save money) which allowed me a nice warmup on the way to the start. We pretty much went off from the gun...some of us were held up by traffic and had to haul arze to catch up with the rest of the group. Then it was off to the races! There's a nice little hill to climb when you are heading south and we popped that sucker at 31 mph...in all these years I've never climbed it that fast before. At one point on Ellerbe Road we were going 34 mph. It was crazy! Hopefully it's a sign that I might be able to adequately do the races in Lafayette in two weeks.

Things that make.....

I've been listening to presidential candidate Barack Obama give a speech this morning because I haven't really listened to any of his speeches before....and I'm about to get a headache. This guy is an idiot. That's the best I can say about him. I've already listened to a handful of out-and-out lies from him as well as embellishments of imagined situations that haven't happened. Every day I'm more convinced that this is a campaign of picking the lesser of two evils. I'm not happy with either candidate but I'll have to hold my nose and vote for McCain. Obama is not an option. I wish I was not in such a hurry to get to 2012.....

Anyway, I got some bad news yesterday afternoon that the mother of a good friend of mine had passed away that morning. Mrs. Katherine Brakhage died peacefully at the age of 83 due to kidney failure and eventual organ shutdown. I'd known Mrs. B since I was 14 years old and thought she was a grand lady and one of my Top Five Second Mothers. I think all of us have had Second Mothers when we are growing up. We love them and never forget them. It's been a couple of years since I last saw her but she had been ill since then and her son Dale kept me up to date. I spoke to him last night when I got the news and he said it was all good. He and his brother, Randy, had stayed with her the last 48 hours. She was comfortable and most of the family gathered round on Sunday evening, playing games, talking, visiting. Dale said that's what you do when you go see Grandma. Finally, everyone left, leaving Dale and Randy there. On Monday morning, Dale took a moment to go to the bathroom and that was when she left, letting out a final sigh. He returned, Randy said she was gone. Dale said it put a whole new perspective on the phrase "When ya gotta go, you gotta go!" They both thought their mother would have appreciated the humor. Anyway, there'll be a viewing Thursday night and the services will be Friday. I will be there. I think a lot of people will be there.

Finally got the Team LaS'port domain name thing straightened out. I own it again for another year and this time I have control over making the payment for ownership.

A Visit to D-Town

The Wife and I went to Dallas over the weekend to check out the bike shops. We visited Richardson's Bike Mart, Wheels in Motion, Performance, and Plano Cycling. And we made side trips to REI and Sports Authority. She is looking for a bike she can use for time trials and triathlons, so she rode several brands. The Kuota tri-bike is floating near the top of the list but there's still a couple more brands she'd like to try. Sometimes the shops didn't have a frame in her size or, in one case, they've stopped carrying a particular brand. We didn't get a bike on this trip since she's not in a hurry for one...just wanted to see what was out there.

However, money was spent on this trip. Mostly on biking accessories like clothes, patch kits, and running shoes. As for me, I got a pair of long-finger cycling gloves (so I can be like Shannon...but also to protect my delicate artist fingers), a technical golf-style shirt (yeah, they make those), and a repair kit for my Thermo-Rest mattress. Dallas is Dallas, and it was hot and humid...just another day in the Big D. Ate at the LaMadeleine for dinner and breakfast...a very nice French-style restaurant although it's weird to hear the wait-staff say "amigo" every once in a while! I'd love to see one in Shreveport.

I've pre-registered for the Texas State Time Trial Championships in Pattison (near Houston) on August 2nd, so I'll get a chance to see how my fitness is coming along for the Louisiana-Mississippi TT Championships coming up in September down in LaPlace. Two of my LaS'port teammates have also registered for Texas. Nice to have company.

Mo' Rest

No biking or running for me today...well, maybe no biking. There's an opportunity for an "easy" ride later this afternoon if I want to give it a go. Otherwise, I'm spending time in the yard...gotta mow da grass, trim the edges, and clean the remaining bricks on the patio. Looks like I'm gonna sweat one way or the other!

The local paper is running a series of blogs in a section called "All Pedal, No Gas" with the basic premise being one of their reporters, Alexaynder Kent, going for two weeks without using his car. He'll be riding a bike the entire time and reporting on it. It's been fun to read about his exploits, most of which I'm familiar with from previous experience. Now that I work at home, riding a bike for commuting isn't a big deal for me, although I'm considering converting the Bradley to a fast commuter bike for some errands. Need to get fenders and a rear rack for it and she'll be good to go! Anyway, check out the link to the blogs and see the thoughts and opinons. Any comments from me are under the name "Farbar".

This doesn't happen every day

Strange ride tonight...but definitely entertaining! We left from the church parking lot, about 12 of us, I guess...heading down Ellerbe Road into a monster headwind. There was no joy being in the front. I got to do that a few times. No joy.

So, we're cruising about 23 mph on the flats and Don takes off on a flyer, leaving the group pretty quick. I decided to jump after him since I thought I could do a few hard efforts this evening and then back off for an easier ride. I was a bit surprised I caught him and passed him so that the two of us were off and away. I was getting into a groove when I noticed a huge truck with a flatbed trailer (carrying a really big tractor) about to enter the road from our left. I mean, I'm talking a really BIG tractor/trailer rig...REALLY BIG! And sure enough he pulled out in front of us. I yelled out "Truck, Don!" and slowed down rapidly but I was still alongside the truck as he continued out onto the road as if we weren't there. I watched the entire rig go past me on my left by a couple of feet until it went by and clear. By this time the rest of the group had caught up and took off after the truck, drafting off it. I was nearly stopped and tried to speed it up but I realized it was a useless effort. I caught up to Frenchie, dragging Seth behind me, and the three of us just kept riding watching the rest of the group ahead by a couple of hundred meters.

Seth ended up turning around and going back, so Frenchie and I rode on to Frierson. The wind was beating us up and we knew we weren't going to catch the group. We got to Frierson, crossed the tracks and I decided to keep going with Joe (his other name) to get the miles in and do some hill climbing when we got to Linwood. Then the next calamity occurred...Joe reached for his water bottle and it slipped from his hand. It hit the ground, spinning, and rolled straight to me. I ran over it with my front wheel. Then it hit my rear wheel and got caught under it. I started sliding down the road with my bike fish-tailing side-to-side and I'm looking for a soft piece of asphalt to land on if it should come to that. Then the bottle spits out from under my wheel and I'm still up. Dang, it feels good to have superior bike handling skills! Joe's bottle was destroyed but I was okay! Yay!

For the final weird part of the ride, not long after the bottle incident a rabbit came running out of the left side into the road, stopped and saw us, turned around and shot back into the brush. Joe and I looked at each other and laughed. We were glad we didn't have to run over a rabbit!

So I got in 51 miles for the day counting the morning ride. I'm tired. Hungry. But must stay up to watch the finish of Stage Six of Le Tour. I can do it. I am strong. But tired.

Wednesday TT

Did the Crossroads time trial last night. Usually I'm in charge and running things but I got someone to take care of that chore so I could ride the fifth in a series of six time trials this year. It wasn't bad...turned in a 17:59 which is my third fastest on the course ever and if I can find at least five seconds to cut off at the next one I'll have a new PR! But I'm hoping to get into the 17:30's instead and that'll hurt.

Pain is such a rush.....

Tuesday Morning TOURS!!!

I met up with Mack, Berg, & Seth this morning for a long, slow ride north of Shreveport. Seth had to turn around early...something about a job he has...but the rest of us continued on, all the way to Gilliam and a total of 58 miles. It was a nice ride, totally opposite of the fast training rides. I'll do more of these in the fall.

Had to go thru downtown Shreveport to get north of it.

Mack & Berg somewhere near the old Sibley store.

My steed....and a couple of live ones in the background.

Now THIS is how you cool off after a ride!

Synopsis

No, I didn't ride Sunday. The legs deserved some rest and I gave it to them.

Our next door neighbor berated us early Sunday morning because one of the dogs we're keeping for some friends went whiny on us while we were out walking the other dogs. Rosie was in the back yard and just started continuously "screaming", not barking, over and over again. Our neighbor, on crutches with her leg in a cast, hobbled over and gave us a dressing-down on things we didn't even do...like letting our dogs bark at mid-night. That's NEVER happened since we've moved here. Anyway, we didn't know the dog would act like that or we'd have never let it out. The lady didn't give us much of a chance to explain anything, so we didn't. A grand time had by all.

I started up the pressure washer for the first time Sunday afternoon (I hoped the neighbor enjoyed the sound of the engine!) and started cleaning the bricks on the back patio. They look almost brand new! It'll take a couple of days to do it all. After an hour, I'm covered in gunk from the backsplash and it's time to quit.

That same dog just tore up a favorite cap of mine...bummer. She's going to be a good dog eventually but right now she's your typical young pup. Gotta chew on everything and do it as well as can be done. I really liked that cap.....

Rode this morning and did a set of short hill repeats afterward. Washed more of the back patio, sprayed up more gunk on myself. Might do a long ride with Mack in the morning, maybe 50-60 miles. Jonenne said it was okay!

Easy Ride...sometimes

I knocked out 62 miles this morning but the legs were still feeling the effects of the last couple of days of getting beat up on. All the way to Frierson, I stayed with the group and actually rode very well. Lost the pack a bit after that but caught them again after passing I-49 and stayed there until we hit Highway 5 to Kickapoo. There I dropped off to do the rest of the ride easy and give my legs a break. As the group was pulling away, Russ had just dropped to the back, looked back and saw me. He gave me a questioning "thumbs up" (as in "is everything okay?") and I gave him a thumbs up with a smile to indicate I was fine. He smiled back and bridged up to the group...I watched them disappear as I maintained a 20 mph speed. I caught with everyone at the store in Keachie, took a quick break, and did the rest of the ride with Arnold at that same easy pace. He kept me honest and kept the pace up enough to make it a true effort. But I was so glad to get home! I was really worn out and now I'm debating about whether to do a really easy ride Sunday or just take the day off and let the muscles rebuild. I'll probably decide at the last minute!

Jonnene's had to work this weekend but she was able to leave just before lunch for the day (she's still on call during this time). She was able to keep a hair appointment...she looks great...and we went out later tonight to eat at Chili's. I spent most of the afternoon dealing with laundry, watching reruns of the first stage of the Tour de France on TV, and trying to catch a nap to recover from the ride.

Happy Fourth of July!!

The lead runners of last year's Firecracker 5K run in Shreveport.

My weight is down to 163 pounds (yay!). I was at 173 back in March. I'm finally making some inroads to making me light enough to climb some hills! I think my "real" weight right now is 165-166 but I'm getting there. Wish my stomach would disappear...If I can get down to 160 and keep the strength, I think I'll be okay.

Last night Tim and I did some speed workouts on our time trial bikes. Only an hour of intervals at a constant speed above 26 mph and I was wiped. I think Tim was, too, but he also had a hamstring problem in his left leg to deal with. The guy's still strong as heck.

This morning I did the 5:50 am ride and only four of us showed up for this fourth of July roll down the parkway. Mike and I were doing the Firecracker 5K run later and we kept the pace around a 22-23 mph effort to save what little power we have. Got home with only an hour before the run and took Farley out for a walk. No shower...what would be the point? Had some yogurt, changed into my running gear and took off to pound my legs some more.

The Firecracker 5K has been going on in Shreveport for about 24 years and I've run it about half of those times. The first 101 men and 60 women get glass mugs as prizes. The extra mug for the men is to symbolize those runners we've known who are no longer with us and to show that we haven't forgotten them. That mug is for them. I've gotten 5-6 mugs over the years and my best time here is a 20:22 for the 3.1 miles.

When I got there I told some of the guys that I planned a 23-24 minute run since I hadn't been doing much after the last duathlon a month ago. No pressure to get a mug and I was going to enjoy myself! However, if I felt I was running well, I would push it some. We started (FINALLY, after all the pre-race music and such) and I spent the first 300-400 meters crowded by dozens of runners around me (about 2,500 do this run). Finally broke into some open space and started passing people, including many I knew. I had a good pace going and decided to keep it up, passing groups of people at a time. I think I only had 6 folks pass me the entire run. When I got to the 2-mile clock I realized I was going at a 6:55/mile clip and kept it up, but that last mile with the heat and humidity was wearing on me a lot. I crossed the line with a time of 21:32, way better than I expected. Immediately I had to sit down in the grass and sweat...sitting had never felt so good! Someone handed me a cold bottle of water and I downed that sucker quick. Got up and ate some cookies, drank a cup of Coke, visited a bit, then headed home.

I'm going to do some restin' the rest of the day...tomorrow is a long ride.

The 2000 Sydney Olympics!

Well, not quite...I found some vids on YouTube with parts of the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. I have always thought that those were the best opening ceremonies for the summer games (the opening ceremonies in Norway, 2002, were the best for the Winter Games, in my opinion). I really enjoyed the whole thing. The red dirt from the outback was brought in to cover the surface of the stadium for the pageant. Here's links to some samples (click on the highlighted words):

The Australian national anthem "Advance Australia Fair" by several popular Aussie groups, singers, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Please be up standing...

The beginning of the Opening Ceremony. And if you want more, here's the video to the Deep Sea Dreaming sequence. Dreams are very important to the Aboriginals.

Anyway, I enjoyed reliving some of it. I'm still looking for the video of the stadium crowd giving a standing ovation and roaring cheers to the delegation from Turkey. You have to know something about Australian history to know why it was such a big deal that night. I also think it was special because I called Jonnene long distance to Oz to talk about the ceremonies while they were going on! We were not an item yet, not by a long shot, and I was so fascinated by what I was seeing that I decided to call the only Aussie I really knew and find out more about her country. I had always wanted to go to Australia before but this lit the fire and eventually I would go there in May, 2003. And we all know what happened in the subsequent years!

So, today, I managed to drag myself out of bed this morning for an easy 4-mile run with the guys. Jeff and Mike were the only ones there in addition to myself and we sauntered along at our usual snail's pace for this weekly run. My legs felt lousy from last night's epic ride and they felt stiff for most of the run but they did okay. The rest of the day I tried to stay off them and let them rest a bit. They'll get worked over enough the next few days.

Oh, and we get to keep a couple of dogs for friends of ours for the next five days! The younger one's going to be a handful and we probably won't see the cat much.

Two Seconds...Triathlons...Etc.

Last night was a great ride for me. It was hard, it was fast, and I thought I was gonna die a few times...perfect. My bike riding is improving quickly the last few weeks. It's not there yet but I can see the improvement. A small group of us broke away from the main pack after we passed the crossroads, chasing after a couple of very strong triathletes who were pressing us on their full-out tri bikes (that means aerobars, aero wheels...stuff we weren't using). About halfway to Frierson, they left us behind or we decided not to push so hard since there were only five of us with them (three of us over the age of fifty) and we couldn't see anyone behind us. So we kept going until a mile from the village LaS'port studs Russ, Jason, and Bolt came flying by us, chasing the tri-guys. I sat there for a moment and decided to go after them...popped out of the line and shifted a couple of gears and started grinding hard. I got up to 29 mph and saw Russ turn his head to see what was behind his chase group. That usually tells me that their speed is starting to come down a bit....for two seconds I thought I had a chance to catch them...I was within 30 meters and closing. Then I realized they weren't slowing. I saw some shadows behind me, knew that the other guys had latched on to me so I decided to see if we could get throw someone up to the group. I pulled off and signaled to the others to come by. Duece gave a good effort, pulled out, then Seth jumped it up a notch, and as Brian came by me I yelled out "Finish it out! Catch them!" And it worked. Brian caught on to Russ' wheel and managed to stay with them for about a mile. Then he fell off and we caught him. The rest of the ride was just keeping up the efforts. Everyone rode well. I got in a total of 67 miles for the day counting the morning ride.

Last Saturday we were in Alexandria for the Groovy Girls Triathlon. Jonnene would end up finishing 5th overall and first in her age group. Granted, this was a beginner's type of triathlon, all women, and there were a few ringers in the race. But it was good for Jonnene to get her ready for a couple of tri's coming up since she hasn't raced so far this year. Our friend, Elka, should have won the tri but she locked her brakes on the bike as she was coming back in and took a header over the handlebars. She ended up getting stitches in her chin, a couple of chipped teeth, and a black eye. Eee-ouch!

Jonnene (right) gets her helmet on during the first transition while Elka pulls on her bike shoes.

Elka is hot on Jonnene's heels as they leave on the bike leg of the race.

Elka was the first rider back and took a tumble when she locked her brakes going into a turn too fast.

In the ambulance after the crash, Elka was more pissed about not finishing the race than about her injuries!

Jonnene had a good race overall. She was about 19 seconds out of third place overall, mostly due to getting caught behind a slower swimmer in the last 50 yards and a less-than-speedy change in the first transition. But her swim was good, a 20 mph average on the bike, and a 8:30/mile average on the run made her pretty happy with the whole thing. The only drawback was waiting 3 hours for the awards presentation as the rest of the racers finished and then having a kids' triathlon. I hope they change that next year. Having an established time for the awards would allow the racers to go home or to their hotel, shower, change, and come back for the presentation. We didn't know when the awards were going to be handed out, so we had to stick around that whole time. It got a little weary on us!