Louisiana

After a full day of driving to get out of Texas, by full day that includes numerous stops for dogs and driver activities, I arrived at Barksdale AFB (Shreveport LA). The plan was to get a few days of riding in before driving to a race in Alabama then on to Georgia. For once the weather in Cheyenne is looking better than the road trip weather. 54 and partly sunny in Cheyenne, 57 and 60% chance of heavy thunderstorms in La. That and I doubt Cheyenne has mosquitoes or 90% humidity.

If by chance it isn't raining in the morning, I hope to get in a couple of hours before me and the dogs go looking for hibernating aligators.

here's an image of my dogs looking their saddest at having to wait in the car while I time trial. At least Nikki is trying. Axel is deciding if it is worth being scolded jumping over the tailgate or not.

Life after VOS

Wow, so much has happened in the last 2 weeks.
Raced McDowell Mtn regional park circuit race (2 cats), Old Town Scottsdale criterium (10th -40+), and then Valley of the Sun Stage Race. Lots of fun and suffering.
I'm now on the road to Georgia.
Texas is a major crossing. I drove most of the day from Las Cruces and now find myself outside of Abilene at a rest stop for the night (with free wireless internet access!!!)
The dogs have been patient with me so far. It helps that we stop every 100 miles or so to get out and play. Of course that doesn't help my drive time. But it's better than having 2 amped kids when I do finally stop for the night.
Well I hope to make it out of Texas tomorrow. Nothing wrong with Texas, I just want to get back on the bike and stretch my legs.

First Race '08

I got through my first race of the year. It was a training race at a Phoenix parking lot. The A race started last and that gave me plenty of time to warm up and jump on the back of the other races for measure. Start time was just before sunset and they were turning on the lights at the announcers table. Too bad there wasn't that much light on the rest of the course. At high speeds riding in the middle of the bunch in the dark, I was not confident enough that I could react quick enough to avoid any possible pile-up. So, I spent most of the race sitting on the back except when the gaps started to open forcing me to bridge. I was not going to finish out of the field. There was a Rock Racing pro rider there spending his layover time between flights lapping the field. He was on his way to the Tour of California. I felt pretty good for not having done any structured intervals or stuff like that to get me ready. Not wanting to mix it up in the sprint, I just slipped off and rolled across the line with Mike the Rock Racing rider. He was pretty cool.

Saturday and Sunday will bring more chances at testing my fitness.

The dogs are enjoying themselves as long as they stay on the road and off the cactus needles that I am continuingly pulling out of their paws

Much Warmer

got in a great ride today as the sky cleared and the temps went up. 3 hours of riding at less than 1800 feet feels like cheating after living at 6600' and riding the last week at over 5000'.
Last night the coyotes were singing across the desert. I kinda enjoy the sound of coyotes howling on a quiet night. They need to move up to Albuquerque where the rabbit population is out of control.

Weather

Well, I made it to Fountain Hills AZ from Albuquerque. Drove through the worst weather imaginable. High winds, blinding snow storm, and heavy rain. It's still raining here in AZ. I always thought that I would be able to escape the weather in Wyoming and then New Mexico by driving further south. It's miserable here. Tomorrow should be better but not by much. hopefully I'll get in some riding before Wednesday's evening crit in Phx if I drive over there. Stay tuned...