Cold and Chilly Weekend

First - GO PACK!!! Woo hoo! 37 to 3. ha ha. Work is going to be fun tomorrow with Mgr back from Hawaii! YEAH!

Man, has it been chilly lately. Seems even colder right now with Wieser once again with DA. This time if he comes back home, he stays here and there are no more nights like Friday realizing he's not here to snuggle up with. Sometimes trying to be nice just sucks.


Perdy misses Wieser too.

Friday night was a bummer packing up Wieser again. Called it an early night. Saturday was busy. Got up and got a work out in (yeah!) and then figured I should really attempt some yard work. Of course the lawnmower wouldn't start. As a last resort I called DA and he just made me feel worst. I will learn. I really will. So the grass didn't get cut and the leaves just got moved around, but many of the plants and such got cut back/down like they needed. I would still really love one more nice weekend to get more done but that would be needed in December as the next couple I am up in WI.

I woke up this morning to a pretty sore back but looked forward some fun Cross. Called Nads on my way out to find out she was still chillin' with her Dad and Kim. Of course I can't blame her for getting in as much of a visit as she can. Gave her some crap and told her to get in the shower and drive quickly. She missed the 3's but hung on in the cold until the start of the last race. Such a trooper! Afterwards we chilled and watched Transition 2. Good stuff.

Quick minute to drop a shout out to Brad Huff! Nice win today! That following his win of Stage 3 the other day. Way to go! The Jelly Belly guys have been racing the Tour of Hainan in China this week and have been doing pretty well. Kiel got a top 10 the other day too! Keep it going guys! Just 3 more stages to go.


The cross race today was down right chilly. Started out pretty nice (considering the day seemed colder as it went on). There was some good sun, just a light wind. Then the sun went away, the wind picked up, and it snowed! The snow didn't stick until tonight on the ground and was just flurries during the day but still. I'm not sure I'm ready for this just yet.

I've checked the site but there aren't many results up yet. There's a chance Mike got a top 10 again. That would rock with as flat as the course was. Last week he got his 1st top 10 in the 3's and you can read his write up on the team site.

Here's a few pics:


Greg making it look easy down the middle.


Mike chooses to run as he passes the guy who tried to ride the pit.


Run Eileen - Run!

My flickr account with more pics.
xXx Racing Team Site.

Chilly Cross and Fun

I have no idea where this weekend has gone but it was at least a fun weekend from start to finish. Fun game night Friday night with the gang. Got my ass kicked in Scene It and realized I held my own during the 80's movies and failed miserably with the more current ones. Oh well. The rematch in December is so on!

Saturday was great getting to sleep in a bit. Saturday night was just what was needed with a visit with some old friends and some good wine. Maybe a bit too much wine but very worth it. Not sure what I was thinking though as Friday everyone was at my house and I didn't drink a drop yet Saturday night I had like 5 glasses of wine. Oops. At least I sobered up before I drove home.

Today started way to early for my slightly hungover self and it was flippin' cold. Headed out in search of some caffeine after picking up Nads for the Cross race and then attempted to prepare for some mind over coldness to cheer on the riders. It wasn't too bad at first but it took no time to realize the wind was going to chill us to the bone. We headed over for the hill after saying hi to Mike and wishing him some good lucks. It was chilly today to say the least but wasn't too bad out of the wind. Or we got numb and it didn't matter. Not sure which. I cracked up laughing at how bundled up Nads was but she enjoyed the last laugh as my cold fingers opted for less picture taking to keep the hands a bit warmer. Still a good fun time.

After we left the race we headed to warm up with some lunch and then went to say hi to Theresa and see little Ryan. Such a cutie. Both Ryan and mom are doing great and he's already up to 8 pounds. Yeah! After that it was a trip to Nads and we watched a Cross video. Looking forward to the next one with a few more riders that I know. That first wasn't bad but not as interesting only knowing 2-3 guys in it.

Here of course are a few pics of the day with the link below for some more.

Rebecca taking the corner.

Heck leading Parker down the hill.

Jeff tackling the stairs.

Matt tries to scare Mike around the corner and almost lost his footing.

My flickr account is here and xXx Racing is here. Enjoy!

Stay warm this week and have some fun!

GO Nads GO! ha ha ha!

Another fun weekend has come and gone. Such a bummer.

Spent most of the weekend de-exing the house which was way over due. Certainly feels good with the progress made in the basement. For now there are several boxes out in the garage awaiting pick up on Tuesday. Still a few more things than need to be gone through but the progress made was pretty awesome. Thank god for awesome college roomies that know me better than I know myself sometimes. With out them I am not sure how the past couple years would've turned out. Huge thanks to Ames and Nads for sure. :-) Love you both!

Dizziness is still a bit of an issue. Latest from the doc is that I have to do my best to hang on for another couple weeks. Apparently the labrynthitis can stick around for 6-8 weeks. I'm just ready for it to be gone but the meds are keeping most things in check. Saturday's cleaning certainly set things off a couple times but never too badly. Blood work done earlier in the week has all come back and there's still signs of inflammation but good news was the iron was finally in check so I'm down to one of those a day, and after a month, I get to go every other day. Good news for sure. I hate those things.

After all the work yesterday it was some fun time today. Nads and I headed to the Cross race and we had the best time today. We usually don't stay for all the races but we were there until the end. Since she couldn't watch the Packer game, she was all for staying so we did. And we're glad we did. It was a lot of fun and tons more people were there through out the day.

Below are some pics so enjoy!












Of course more can be found here.
And Newt's got a fun write up on the team site.

More Wind. More Cross. :-)

Another fun day at the races. :-) Today started out pretty nice. Sun was out, mid 50's, races to watch. Then the wind picked up and yikes! It was windy today but a lot of fun. We met more riders (probably way too many in one day) and had another fun day. I think we've got the names but putting them back to faces will be interesting next weekend for sure. This afternoon we watched it rain/snow(!?!?) while we watched a movie. It was a quick shower but man, it's not even November yet. I'm so not ready for the cold snow stuff yet.

Here's a couple pics from today...

There's more out on Flickr and make sure to check out the xXx Racing site for more.

Got home tonight and had a message from my Aunt. Mike is off at boot camp in San Diego and we're heading out there for graduation in January. His dates kept moving back but now graduation is going to happen the weekend of my birthday and I'm thrilled! It should be a great weekend. It looks like we'll fly out Wednesday and be there until Sunday. I am already looking forward to the sun and the anticipated break. Winters are chilly here and work is already picking up so a long weekend seeing Mike graduate will be an awesome birthday present. I can't wait! I got to read his letter and letters his way are welcome along with goodies but no candy. Power bars are okay. I think I might try sending him some Jelly Belly Sport Beans. Ha!

Things this week were pretty quiet. I was sent home early everyday to make sure I didn't overdue things. Monday included a flickering light above my desk which drove my head insane. Tuesday they wanted me to head home way earlier than I thought was needed. Apparently I was looking rather "white" so it's no wonder I went to bed early. The week got better for sure but this dang virus thing is still hanging on. Tomorrow it's a call to the doc. I'm all for letting a virus running it's course, but over 3 weeks? Really? Hopefully it's nothing but since the light headedness and dizziness came back after the meds were gone, it's worth checking out - again.

This next week is going to be packed. Work is starting to pick up and the small lull we had the past couple months looks to be gone. Month end at the end of the week and Mgr leaves for HI so there's a lot to tie up before he heads out. Very jealous and I have only myself to blame since Tim is there and a visit would take nothing more than a phone call and a plane ticket. We also have our volunteering afternoon on Tuesday. We're headed over to the Chicago Food Bank to bag food and help out. Always a feel good day when you can get out and help someone.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!!

Another Fun Cross Day

Another week has come and gone and I have little idea where to. Checked in with the docs again a couple times through the week and now we are on a high dose of meds which seem to be eliminating all of the symptoms of the dizziness but what a roller coaster. The meclizine makes me pretty tired and I'm on 150mg of that and the predinsone pretty much wires me up and I'm on 60mg of that. The kicker is that he has me on it for 5 days and then off cold turkey. I'll be calling him on day four as I know the med well enough with all the years of my dad being on it that it is not one to just stop taking, even if for only a few days. But in the meantime I just wait to see which one hits me first through the day. I'm either wired to go and running around doing stuff all over the house, or I'm snuggled up with a blanket wondering if I should take yet another nap. The good thing is that at least now there are no spinning rooms, no dizzy spells, and I went the entire day today with out feeling light headed or feeling like I just lost my balance. So that is great.

After not sleeping much last night (took a dose of predinsone too late and it stayed with me till the wee hours of the morning) I was running later than I wanted to today. But, still got up to see the Cross race in Carpentersville. It was another enjoyable day outside and it seems like every week we are meeting a few more people and we're having fun cheering on Mike and the xXx Team riders. After the race Mike came over and he said he finished 10th. Great stuff. He moved up to Cat 3 a couple weeks ago and it seems each week he's moving up in the placings so that is cool. We think it must be with the help of the cheering of course. :-)

A couple pics from today...

The guys were going along the side of the hill giving it full gas to the flatter part of the course.

There were two lovely barriers to hop over on the way up the incline.

Mike fully exerted himself with this climb. ha ha!

Fun sand pits. Kids playing on both sides cheering for mom's and dad's as they rode through the play area.

More pics can be seen HERE.

After the race we grabbed some lunch. Jane and I both thought pizza sounded good so pizza, with a salad for our appetizer, it was. Good stuff on a chilly day. From there we went baby clothes shopping and headed over to say hi to Theresa. The "IBS baby" is still in the hospital getting well enough to come home but Mom & Mike were both home and doing well. The baby's room is painted and cute and tons of planning is being worked on. Nothing like being told you have IBS and then go into the ER from pains and getting told you're having a baby - today. He is a cute little thing and we can't wait to meet him when he gets home and they all get a little settled. Huge congrats Theresa on the cute little one!

Spinning Rooms and Cross Fun :-)

It's been a few weeks since I've updated the blog but I've racing and life certainly hasn't stopped, which is a good thing. :-)

Just over a week ago, I ended up in the doc's office suffering from extreme dizziness, headaches, loss of balance, and unreal nausea. The doc called it labyrinthitis but I say it is the worst hang over feeling in the world. And as I joked later in the week, the worst might just be, never getting to enjoy the party that might lead to such a hang over the night before. It sucked.

I spent several days just hoping the spinning rooms would stop moving and that I might be able to eat a lunch versus sticking to shakes as at least those I knew I was keeping down. I feel for anyone that's had vertigo and I really feel for those that have it over a week. It hasn't been any fun. All the doc recommended was sleep and Bonine. Thanks. I ate 2 boxes of the motion sickness pills over three days in attempting to keep the spinning to a minimum. It helped but never took it away. And for sleep, I think I slept more in the last week than I have in the past six months - seriously. I generally don't sleep much for many reason so to find myself sleeping close to 20 hours in one day was off to say the least.

Things have been getting better everyday but things still aren't "normal". I'm finally able to watch TV, be in the computer, and I'm sleeping more normal hours. I still have some bad dizzy spells and I get bad headaches following it but laying down seems to help it go away. I've been off work a week and will be working from home for a day or two. When I last spoke to the doc she said it could be a few more days. I'm hoping it just goes away.

Last Sunday, with out realizing how bad things were, I headed out to a Cross race with GG and Theresa. Woke up and waited for the dizziness to stop and then I was feeling okay so I figured why not. :-) We headed up to DeKalb for the 2nd Chicago Cyclocross race. We got there and unlike a majority of the road races where I've met great riders like those from Jelly Belly and Garmin, we knew no one. So it was a little odd. We cheered on the riders but GG and Theresa were not having quite the fun I had hoped they would. Between races we were walking around and I saw one of the riders from xXx Racing and he looked somewhat familiar so I went up to say hi. Turns out he was at Downers and that's where I had seen him before. It was fun meeting Mike and it now gave us someone specific to cheer for so GG and Theresa had much more fun during the 2nd race we watched. And it didn't hurt that Mike came in 2nd in the race so that was exciting too. :-)

Mike avoiding a fallen rider on a down hill section at DeKalb.

In a rare event, I handed over my keys after the race for GG to drive as I was just not up to it. There were a few times during the race that if someone didn't know me, they might've thought I was drunk. The whole balance thing started to give me issues and just a step up or down a hill bothered me. I was ready to be home. We stopped for a bite to eat and headed back to GG's where I laid down and slept for awhile. When I got up I felt good enough to get home and that's what I did. Went home and straight to bed.

Once I got my pics uploaded into my flickr account I dropped an email to xXx to share the fun of meeting Mike and cheering him on and to let them know I had some pics they were welcome to. Luke emailed back and so did Bob. I also got an email from Mike and I shared that with Theresa and Jane. It was fun to meet a rider to cheer on and the girls had a good time and we planned future races to check out.

This weekend Theresa was busy but Jane and I were looking forward to going again. So we headed out to Hawthorne. In the email from Mike, and per his entry on the team site, he was moving up to the cat 3's so we went earlier. We found a spot near the nasty ass hill the riders had to go up twice on each lap for pics and cheering. As Mike came by he had a huge "Hi Nikki" which was fun that he knew us. We cheered him and the team on and then moved up to the top of the hill and cheered for even more riders as the hill wasn't easy. The view from the top was great as we got to see them come up twice and could see the whole course. On a beautiful 80 degree sunny Sunday, it doesn't get much better. :-)

The dreaded hill the riders had to go up twice each lap.

Almost to the top for the 2nd time, after jumping the barrier at the bottom.

Of course I got light headed before too long so we left a little earlier than planned but still had a good time. As we drove out I saw a rider with an xXx tee on and tonight, per his email, it sounds like the good luck Jane shouted to him as we passed, it was Bob. His first Cross race today and he said he lost it in the mud pit so we are bummed we didn't check that part of the course out. :-) All good stuff and xXx Racing has new fans for sure as thus far, starting back at Downer's when I met John and Nico, the whole team seems very friendly and fun. We look forward to meeting more and cheering them on at more races. I love the guys I've met this past year and to now be getting to know a local group is just loads of fun. No reason for the season to end when we have some many fun people to meet and cheer on. :-) Check out the pics I've shared at the team site. They're on flickr and on the team's main page. Good stuff.

Some Cycling Updates...

So I know it's been a little while since I've blogged but life has been busy for sure. Since it's been a bit, I wanted to put up some good reads and huge congrats to some...

HUGE belated CONGRATS!!! to Daniel Holloway! I started following him earlier this year and had a chance to meet him at Elk Grove. Then got to see him again at Downer's and at the Tour of Missouri. He recently had a pretty awesome time on the track and rode to a few medals. Huge congrats to one of our great younger talents and newer rider for Garmin. He's very friendly and very talented! I hope you check out his site and if you get a race - cheer him on! Both the Garmin site and Lyne's Podium In Sight site had write ups so I hope you check them out. Back at Elk Grove, I had told John that Daniel was one to keep an eye on for great things and he most certainly has made it look like I had a clue as to what I was talking about. Huge thanks and even bigger congrats Daniel! Way to go!!!

In Cross news, since I'm new to following this year - huge thanks to Drew and Jeremy - check out Jeremy's new diary at VeloNews - Crackin' a curse and kickin' it with Clinton. Jeremy had a pretty good weekend as well - (VeloNews) Powers and Compton win in Cincinnati and Compton and Powers win in Ohio. And for those of us that like pictures - (CycleCross magazine) Powers and Compton Repeat in Ohio. Great racing Jeremy!!!

The Garmin guys have also been doing well over in Europe. Make sure to check out the team site and read up. For many, the season is pretty much done but for guys like DZ, Meatball, Euser, and Farrar (to name just a few) there are still races to be done. I have to admit that Facebook has been pretty fun to follow riders and friends but I must say, I hope it doesn't keep the guys from writing diaries and updating their blogs. Most of those are directly from them from their views and are great for some laughs from time to time.

You know I love reading stuff from Michael Barry. This is from last week but I'd hate for you to miss reading from him - Attacks, crashes and goodbye kisses. And before that diary, Will had a diary as well - Sometimes off the bike can be more tiring than riding...

And of course, I have to mention the GREAT job that Maggie is doing on Christian's Fan Club site. I'm trying help with links to older results and the many diaries that he's written over the years but my help is nothing to the work that she has put into it. Being the long time fan that I am of C's, it's a pretty awesome site to have out there. I'm thrilled she's letting me be a part of it! Make sure to check it often for updates, great photos, and entries!

Sad call to get...

Two weeks ago I got into work and had an email to call my cousin. Sadly it was with news that my Grams had passed away. The funeral was nice and I think because she was 89 and lived a pretty full life, I was really okay with her moving on to a better place. The next day at the cemetary was a bit harder for me. Having dad buried in front of her and Grandpa certainly didn't make for an easy morning. Miss them all. God bless us all to live life to the fullest with few regrets...

Esther (Janko) Gosse, born May 20, 1919 daughter of the late Charles and Olga Janko, formerly of Kohler and currently residing at Morningside Health Center returned to her Lord on Thursday, September 25, 2008.

Esther married the late Marvin Gosse on August 26, 1939 at Trinity Lutheran Church Town of Wilson. He preceded her in death on April 16, 1978.

She worked for the Kohler School System until retiring in June 1984.

She is survived by a son, Roger of West Virginia and a daughter, Rogene (Kenneth) Bruckner of Kohler. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by two sister-in-laws, Virginia Janko of Sheboygan and Betty Gosse, of Oostburg.

She was preceded in death by her husband, her son Robert, and one grandson and one great grandson, three brothers and two sisters and three brothers-in-law.
Esther was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Kohler. Esther had been active in several organizations at the Church.

Funeral services for Esther will take place on Monday September 29, 2008 at 7:00pm with Rev. Robert Steele from Bethany Lutheran Church in Kohler officiating. Family and friends may call at the Novak-Ramm-Ziegler Funeral Home, 1535 S. 12th Street, Sheboygan on Monday from 3:00 until the time of service. Burial in the Woodland Cemetery, Kohler.

A Memorial fund has been established for Bethany Lutheran Church.
The family wishes to thank the staff at the Morningside Health Center for the excellent care provided during her residency.

Catching up and the ING Direct DC Crit

Still working on the TOM stuff including the write ups I didn't have time to do that week and going through hundreds of pics trying to label and edit them the best I can. I worked a lot of hours last week coming back from the week off so this weekend was going to be a weekend of catching up. And it was, for the most part.

This past weekend included having today off which would've been sweet had I not twisted my ankle while working out yesterday morning. And I'm not even sure I twisted it as the pain is pretty low in the area. It is getting a little better though. It'd probably be doing a lot better if I had not gone for a ride yesterday but I couldn't pass up having the time and perfect weather to do so. I had a 3 hour ride planned but that cut in half with the ankle finally having enough. Still felt great to be out there. Today it hurt more to drive to the path but felt almost good riding. Again, probably not the best idea but time outside is limited these days and I hope to take advantage when I can. :-)

I got the siding fixed today. I noticed it before leaving for TOM but needing to be here to talk to them pushed the repair to today. Took him all but 10 minutes and no charge so that was sweet. Got some much needed cleaning done today too. Thankfully nobody could see me hopping around while vacuuming.


The past week has been a lot of fun. Enjoyable emails with some of the riders and fans I met at TOM. Sharing some great pics. Looking forward to finishing my pics this week. I have reloaded the TT pics from stage 3 onto my flickr account with labels and such. I also found a few pics that me and the gang were in at DailyPeloton.


Yesterday was fun watching the ING Direct DC Crit that C and company were in. (Start list 1 and list 2) Will started the race but had to pull out as the knee is still on the mend. C animated things for awhile. Took a flyer off the front for several laps and had Bahati with him so they weren't going to get too far. Danny Pate and Mike Friedman were also seen flying up front. In the end the race was won by Hilton Clarke. Full results can be found HERE.
Check out our chat during the race on Podium Cafe.
Also check out pics from some of the gang that was there: JFS_PGH and Sui Juris
I also found some more pics - Luke Pingel's Pics

In other random chatter, Blake Caldwell is back home and recovering from his crash during the TT at TOM. He took a horrible spill but sounds to be doing much better. Check out his Blog and see his update on the Garmin site. Also, Jeremy Powers has started off his Cross season with a bang! Way to go Jeremy! Check out a chat with him and Tim Johnson too. They didn't do too badly on Sunday either. Sweet start for sure. Being pretty new to Cross this year, I am already looking forward to getting to a race or two this season. My PT rides and it by far has to be his favorite time of year. So with him selling me on it all year already and then to know Jeremy rides and so does Alex, it's time to check it out. Doesn't hurt that everyone I talk to about it, smiles from ear to ear and says it really is the best time of year. We shall see! :-)

Reads:
DistrictCycling.com: I'm Stupid for the Capitol Crit (part 1). Interview with Bobby Lea.
NewYorkTimes_M.Barry: Cycling in America Is One Big Exchange Program

2008 TOM - Stage 6

I'm starting to think sleep is just not going to happen this week. I guess that's what Monday is for. :-) Tonight we were talking and remember different things this week and it has me almost floored with how quickly the days all melded together. Thank goodness I have pics to trigger reminders on what day was what. Several jokes with the Tour and I am not convinced there is no way the riders have any idea after like day 5 or so. I think I was good until Thursday and tonight, it's all one big mush of memories. Hopefully I can pull better write ups for the earlier days when I get back.

Another enjoyable stage today. Started down in Hermann and for me a search for some coffee as last night was a wee bit of a late one trying to get caught up on a few things. (Tonight's not looking much better.) We had some rain as we left the hotel. As we pulled out onto the highway the Jelly Belly crew was there. As we all turned for the off ramp I found myself in with their cars. Janann and I thought T might be going a little crazy seeing them. I think it would've been a treat to have seen her in the middle of the cars. Hopefully no crashes would've been had but I have to think it would've been cute.


Jelly Belly in front of me, the truck behind, and the camper behind that. Light drizzle and what felt like back country roads. Fun morning trip to the start. :-)

At the start the first priority for me was coffee. Usually I grind and brew mine (bring coffee pot and all when on a driving trip) but choosing 30 minutes more sleep this morning meant no making coffee. Once that was taken care of we walked around in downtown Hermann. Went and chatted with Jelly Belly and dropped off some cookies and some good coffee beans with Brad. (Serious apologies guys as the cookies this race were not the good ones from back by me.)

Walking around we ran into Luis again. Wished him happy birthday (which was yesterday) and teased him about Janann being married. Good laughs and all good fun. When he got the email he even noted - MARRIED on it. So funny. After that we ran into Kurt again. I've been seeing him at races the past couple months. Then at Downers we joked around with him. Now here at TOM it's becoming a fun part of the day to stop and catch up. Some smiles when he walked up and says he has a favor to ask. Luckily it was simple and not a problem at all.

The past couple days I've been running into Neil from Road as well. Being a fan of the DZ interviews one has to check in to see what the new laugh will be. Still waiting for the one he thought he might get I think on Tuesday or Wednesday but the chamois cream one got some laughs when we watched yesterday for sure. Make sure to check it out.

Once the riders got going we headed out with plans to watch the 3rd KOM. Our plans got yanked though when the road got closed well over a 1/2 hour before the race came through. No other day gave us any issues but the gang said last year this area had the same issues. So we watched them turn onto the road from that point and then opted to skip the KOM since we were now behind them instead of 40 minutes in front. Just as I took a couple pics of the guys coming around John called to see what was happening. He was headed to pick up Leah. Tonight looking at pics I got one of at that stop which was pretty cool.

The entire drive today kept us awake. It was loaded with rolling hills. In a lot of spots it was the kind with the roller coaster feel where you push to get to the top and unable to see anything until you hit the top and then you roll down and head back upwards. Good stuff. Although on the way to the start in the Jelly Belly cars, more than once I wondered how the camper managed that with out making the guys sick. They all seemed good when we saw them so maybe it's not as bad as I think it would be.

We got really sweet parking at the finish. We were parked right off the course and only a couple blocks from the line. We headed to the jumbo trons to get some updates. The GPS locks on a signal and my blackberry was pretty sweet in keeping us updated from the CN live report but cell service was touch and go through all those hills. The jumbo trons were great to sit back and watch the race until the riders arrived. We got a spot on the fence about 50-100 meters from the line too which was nice. While waiting I located John and called him. Told him to wave. Little Uma was so cute and grandpa certainly was enjoying the time with her.

The riders had a straight shot at the finish today. No circuits through town. The pack came flying by us and Cav won the sprint. Usually we wait and watch the riders all come in and the finishers ride around but we headed to the podium area as there were tons of people with this being a weekend (and the rain holding off). Once everyone started filling in that area, the sun peeked out and winds slowed and we all got baked. It has been humid all week. Today didn't feel nearly as bad as yesterday but it was still sticky.

The podiums were great. Rollin is having some good fun with this KOM. Cav got back the sprint jersey after having lost it on the course with sprint points. Eisel got the most aggressive. And C looked great in yellow! It was pretty fun having the Vandevelde family down here today. The cheers and excitement were clearly stepped up. Being a weekend also jumped up the crowds. Everyone seems to be loving the riders and C is getting great warm welcomes from all watching.

After that we hoped for some wind to cool us off a bit. Lyne came walking by and pushed me! I couldn't believe her nerve. LOL!!! We ran into Kurt so he and I headed to my car so he could get his pics. I walked back then and saw Brad after his press interviews. Got to give him a hug and congrats on his 3rd place. Then I headed to find the gang. We located a smoothie stand and we were ready for something. I'm not sure Janann and I ate anything more than a small bar all day and in the heat the cold drink was great. We decided to head to the cars. On the way we saw C doing some press interviews too so we stopped and listened. He was asked about next year and he said he wants to come back and he loves the race. He would come back as long as his schedule would allow it. He then says - and his schedule WILL allow it. Smiles and laughs all around. As he headed out I gave him a hug too and congratulated him on a great day.

With Garmin having gotten bigger and C having the best year in cycling ever, getting to say hi to C is pretty rare. He stopped over earlier in the week on his way back from sign in and Janann and T got to get his autograph at sign in one day. I was enjoying seeing the kids go nuts on the teams and got some fun pics. T and Janann got the close ups of the guys coming by. Tag teaming the fun has been great for us all week.

After we checked in tonight we were all starving so he headed for dinner. As we're eating I noticed Neil walk in with his girlfriend. I comment to Janann that it was him and T tries to figure out what we're talking about and we lie and say some guy looked like Neil that walked in. (Good laughs and if you know T, you know we did this for her health and safety... maybe Neil's too. ha ha!!! We love you sweetie!) After dinner we were up in the lobby and Neil and Joy came up so we all said hello's and talked for a quick bit. I headed outside for a bit and the gang headed up to the rooms.

Neil and Joy came outside and we chatted for a bit. Talking to them about this past week reminded me of some of the hillbilly stories we have had this week. I'm hoping Alan and Janann see him tomorrow to fill in some of it but the jist was still funny. I kid you not on this one... Thursday was like the day from a Jeff Foxworthy comedy. The best over the top part for me was walking past this group next to their car trying to figure out changing the tire. The women is on the phone saying they have a flat and they need the person to bring them a spare. She then proceeds to tell them that the spare is in the front yard! Janann and I just look at each other. We get about a block down and we bust up laughing. After the many other things that happened Thursday, that just sent us into pure laughter.

Once I got back to the room I uploaded some of my pics. I've decided I will probably work on some edits on the computer and then will reload the stages on flickr again and delete the other files from this week. On stages like the TT, I think I have most of the riders labeled on my computer but the upload took so long that I didn't wait to add it. Oh well. I also worked on loading up T's pics for her onto her web spot.

All good stuff but now I am totally due for some sleep. Tomorrow looks like we could have no rain during the race and high humidity or up to 6 inches of rain possible. Gosh help us! VIP tent tomorrow is looking pretty darn sweet. The course is a 14 mile city course and I think they make the loop 5 times. It doesn't start until like 2 pm so sleeping in and chilling tomorrow morning is going to feel pretty good.

Some of my stage 6 pics are up.

Linkies:
CN: Live Report - Stage 6
CN: Cavendish back to winning ways in Missouri
VN: TOM: Cav tops again, Vande Velde holds lead
Garmin: TOM Stg 6: Christian Vande Velde One Stage Closer!
JellyBelly: TOM - Stage 6