It has been a bit since my last update but I have plenty of excuses to explain why. Mainly, I have been training pretty hard and racing a bit. Plus, there are other important things that need to be done such as playing pool, watching movies, and going to Whole Foods to eat out of the bulk department. The energy nuggets at Whole Foods are excellent. Whether you are a chocolate person or more of a fruit person they have booth kinds nugget to suit your taste. Very convienient and tastey.

For the past week I have been staying at Darren and Michelle Pipp’s house near Madison, Wisconsin. The riding over here is great and Madison is a fun town. I even have my own room with a bed which is awesome. I have slept in a bed, I believe, for 13 out of the last 14 days which must be some sort of record this year! It definetly beats the air mattress I have been using. My organization has gone to crap as you can see by the picture of my room. I am usually pretty organized but lately I have been pretty lazy. There really is no point to being organized anyway if I am going to be moving in a few days again, right?

Did not get out for a ride until later this afternoon because I went to town in the morning and bought some new flip flop sandles from REI. I have been against the thong sandle for quite awhile but since everyone has them I figured I should get a pair. They really are not that comfortable with the strap through the toe. I think I already have a blister! I did get them for half price after hashing out a deal with Frank so I could not pass them up.

Frank, Wes, and I just got done grilling burgers and are waiting for the fries in the oven to finish. We got hungry so ate the burgers first and are waiting for the fries. I will consider the fries dessert, maybe I can just put some frosting on them or something.

While in the food store today getting stuff for the cookout I ran across bread in a can. It was rather interesting and made me wonder who would buy bread in a can? Probably someone like me who is interested in seeing what it looks like. If I would have had my camera I would have taken a picture because at $2.97 it was too expensive to buy.

I think I am interviewing Hartman tomorrow so stay tuned.

later,
g.

………..I take it back I think I got a little cocky. Trying to ride 4 hours easy with Frank when he is doing 4 hours hard does not quite work. I actually had to ride sort of hard and am a bit cracked at the moment. It was hot, windy, and hot. Now I am tired, hungry and grumpy!

I am moving into a new house this evening. Tom Schuler set Frank, Wes and I up with our own house in Wauwatosa. I am not sure what the address is yet but once I do I will let you all know and then you can send me some mail. It will be nice to have a permanent place for my stuff at least until Tom tears the house down and builds a new one on the lot. Maybe he will let me live in the new one? Even though my stuff will be there I am not sure where I will be? If you want me to come visit and you live in a cool place like……Crested Butte, Colorado I am sure I could make arrangements!

Moving is such a headache but at least this time I only have one suitcase and a computer. Getting cable hooked up is definetly a priority though becasue I need the internet for blog updates and have to watch Laguna Beach on Monday nights. Another good episode last night by the way. I don’t think we will have a/c though but I have found a queen size mattress which definetly beats the twin air matress that I am sleeping on now!

I got a new hat the other day that the Jelly Belly boys hooked me up with. It is stylish! Menzies also left his shades in the van and they look pretty good on me. Sorry Menzies I might have to keep them. What do you think?

later,
gl

Tricky “Dick London” (aka Richard England) is alleged to have stole my favorite Advantage Benefits Endeavour polo shirt and a pair of my cycling socks. He was last seen leaving Belmont, North Carolina heading west in a Black Chevy van with pimp like running lights on the inside. London is believed to be hiding out in the hills of Lookout Mountain, Georgia with his accompliss Karl “ten” Menzies. Dick London is approximately 5′10″/140lbs and most likely will be seen with bag of Skittles or in candy aisle of the grocery store. He also might be heard saying things like, “g’day mate” or “I like me Skittles”. Attached is the most current photo of the two. If spotted notify me immediately and keep a close eye on your clothing.

I don’t think Rich actually stole my shirt and socks. We often do laundry as a team and throw everything in the wash at once. Usually this results in utter chaos with everyone getting someone elses clothes. Unfortunately it was my favorite polo shirt that got misplaced so I will be without it for a few weeks until the USPRO crit in Downers Ave. I hope I can wait that long?

Charlotte was a blast and the Bank of America Crit went okay. We did not get any huge results but won our fair share of primes and were one of, if not the most aggressive team in the race. If you don’t win you my as well go down trying and that is what we did. Plus we got on the local tv a lot. I would also like to say thanks to Gina for coming down from Greensboro to watch the race!

Made it back to Milwaukee this afternoon after driving for a couple of days. We were in a hurry so no time for stops on the way back, not even the bathroom. That would have been fine on the way down because we had no a/c and were dehydrated the entire time. However, the a/c got fixed and hydration was not a problem. With no bathroom stops bottles can come in handy. Frank demostrates his use of the bottle but by the look on his face it appears he is enjoying it a little too much! (I swear I did not take that picture) .

What is up next? I am planning on hanging out in Milwaukee tomorrow and riding for 4 hours. Frank is riding 4 hours hard and I am suppose to do 4 hours easy which is perfect because we can ride together and both get our workouts in! Then off to Madison for a week and some San Fran training.

later,
g.

Made it to Charlotte N.C. yesterday evening. It was a hot drive down since the a/c in the team van was not working once again. With the temperature near 100 degrees we pretty much all had a permanant case of “ass sweat” the entire drive. Hopefully the a/c gets fixed by the time we head back!

We are staying in host housing on the outskirts of Charlotte and it is awesome. Mike and Colleen are our hosts and they have a petty nice house along with an assortment of toys. Last night we took out their boat and went to the restaurant on the water. I definelty can say that that was the first time I ever drove to a restaurant in a boat. I want one but think I need some more money first. It was an awesome evening………boat ride, dinner, another boat ride, and and air conditioned house.

Not only is the house air condition but I won drawing straws for rooms. That means I am sleeping on a bed for the next few evenings. It definetly beats the air mattress that I have been sleeping on! Plus it is cold with the a/c and I have to cover up with all of the blankets. That definetly cannot be beat.

We are leaving for a race in a few minutes and I switched the saddle on my bike again today so I am sure I will be uncomfortable in the race. Being uncomfotable sucks! We race tonight, tomorrow night, and the big Bank of America race Saturday night. All of the races are late, tonights race is at 9 pm! I think it is dark by then? It should be fun.

The pictures are of sitting in traffic in Chicago, fatties eating Skittles, being very hot, and Pipp’s digusting hairy sweaty flabby gut.

Okay Karl wants his computer back. I am borrowing his since I did not want to pack mine and bring it with. Therefore, you should feel very fortunate that I am doing an update at all!

later,
g.

Hung out in my cycling clothes today for about seven hours and really did not go too far. Had to put a new saddle on my bike which was a pain but I managed to get it somewhat comfortable after three hours of fiddling around with it. Then I headed home ame home for lunch; a chicken salad with croutons. It was rather tastey.

Did not have too long of a rest because I went and rode mounatin bike with Tom “Moby Dick” Schuler, Frank, and Julian in the afternoon. Tom gave Frank and I the tour of Milwaukee via single track and I was surprised by the amount of good single track that is in Milwaukee. Every mountain biker in the city should get out and ride the tails by the Milwaukee River. Not only are they fun but it would also piss off the lady who told us the trails were hers and bikes cause massive destruction! Frank and I were good and let Tom do all of the talking since he seems to know how to handle situations like that!

We gave Tom the nickname “Moby Dick” or “Big Beluga” due to the way he would spit water from his mouth into the air and ride through the mist. Maybe I missed something along the way but I never saw that technique used before. It did look rather interesting.

I crashed again on the ride…..on my same tore up elbow. That is three days in a row and counting and my right side is getting rather sore. Maybe my mountain bike skills are not as good as I think? Nah, that can’t be it!

On the ride we were talking a bit about X-Terra which is an off road triathalon that involves mountain biking, swimming and trail running. I think it would be fun but I don’t know how to swim. I have decided that it is time to solve that problem this fall. I think after the season I want to learn how to swim. If anyone wants to give me some lessons in late September /early Octoberish let me know! I am willing to pay $0 for lessons but might consider something like a coffee for repayment. I will leave that open for negotiation.

Other than that I went to Sentry to get some meat and cheese for a burger. I thought I would get a few slices from the deli instead of buying an entire package. It must have been the cheese slicer deli guy’s first day on the job becuase it took FOREVER! I asked for a few slices and got .75 lbs which ended up costing more then buying a package. He kept putting the wrong number into the machine and could not tell the difference between cheddar and swiss…………it was horrible! He did say thanks for the patience so at least he knew he was slow.

I need to pack for Charlotte and the burger I did have was great.

later,