Day 7: July 8, 2012 by Jenn

Today started off nice and early to pack up our site and hike to Grinnel Lake. We have the packing thing down to 2 hours including coffee, breakfast, and doing the dishes. Pretty good!

Our hike to Grinnel Lake from the trailhead was about 3.5 miles one way and climbed 60 feet. :) Much better than yesterday! It was a clear day. The water was a beautiful turquoise blue and reflected the mountain scene. As we got closer to the lake, we headed into dense wood/swamp. At one point, we crossed a suspension bridge that could carry only one hiker at a time. The views from Grinnel Lake were great - you could see Salamander Glacier but no views of Grinnel Glacier. At one point, many years ago, these two glaciers were one in the same. We thought pretty hard about attempting the trek to where the trail ended for Grinnel Glacier (due to snow hazard) but then we noticed the switchbacks up the hill/mountain and we decided, instead, to head back. It was a wise choice, I think, because today was another hot one - at one point, our car thermometer read 91 degrees! After a picnic at the trailhead (PB&J subs), we started our trek to West Glacier. This gave me quite a bit of reading time which lead us to learn that the spectacular Beargrass we've seen everywhere only blooms once every 3-5 years. No wonder people are so crazy about it!

On the way to Grinnel Lake 

Crossing a creek on a suspension bridge...one person at a time!

Salamander Glacier is the top strip of snow.  Grinnel Glacier is on the other side of the shadowed mountain on the left.  

While we drove passed Logan Pass, we took in the views heading west. They are so different headed the opposite direction! We also noticed that the Weeping Wall had significantly more water falling today than last Monday. All of this abnormally warm weather has really made the snow melt. We also noticed more avalanche paths in the high mountains. 

We hit up the gift shops again and - luckily - the print we had wanted the other day was still at the shop. Whew! When you see so many great things, it's hard to know when to purchase what. We arrived in Belton around 3:15 and we were able to check into the Belton Chalet. The lobby greeted us with a great smell of rustic wood, big rugs, and dark furniture. The great old lodge feel. Our room is small... but bigger than our tent. The simple decor continues in here, room 26, and we have great views of the mountains. Our deck and rocking chairs are great too, but it's too hot to sit out there now. 

Hello bed.  We've missed you.

Sunset view from our balcony.  Apgar Mountain on the right.

Fitting in and fully enjoying the rocking chairs.

The Belton Chalet is in the same Swiss style as the others we've seen. In fact, it was the first Great Northern Railway hotel in the Glacier National Park area. Still today, trains pass through Belton (and at the foot of our hotel) often. The hotel was built in 1910 within months of the park's opening. And unfortunately, it got run down and went unused for 50 years, until it was bought in 1997. Three years of restorative work and it was up and running again. Much of the arts and crafts era furniture was kept and restored too. We feel pretty lucky to be able to stay in such a great, historic place. 

For dinner, we ate at the hotel's Tap Room. Still the great decor and the original wainscoting. Delicious food too. Now we're sprawled out on what feels like our king sized, full sized bed, waiting for our deck to cool so I can beat Geoffrey in yet another game of Cribbage. We both agree this is a prefect way to end our trip. 

Day 6: July 7, 2012 by Geoff

Yet another beautiful day.  Today we went down to Two Medicine area of the park.  It's in the Southeast corner of the park and not nearly as many people visit this part of the park.  After talking with the ranger yesterday, we decided to hike to Scenic Point.  It's 3.1 miles each way with 2,300 ft of elevation gain so we knew it was going to be difficult.  But man, was it difficult!  The first half mile was in the trees but everything after that was pretty exposed.  It was a hot day with very little clouds so the heat just reflected off of the rocks, making the climb that much harder.  On our way up, we saw a big horn sheep and a marmot.  Both were friendly and posed for a long time to have their photos taken.

The trees were bare through the hike - a disease killed them off years ago and left a graveyard of wood.
Beautiful sight, though!

Big Horn Sheep

Marmot posing for the camera

There were countless switchbacks to the top of "the dome" where we could see for about 50 miles or more!  It's really hard to describe in words what it was like.

View to the Southeast

View to the North and Two Medicine Lake 

On the way back down Jenn got "a little" sun burned and we decided to get better hats for hiking.  In all, it took 5.25 hours for the 6.2 mile round trip.  To celebrate making it to Scenic Point, we both had a beer and ice cream sandwich at Two Medicine General Store.  It was so tasty!  

From there, we made the 1.5 hour drive back to our campsite and made creamy broccoli tuna helper.  It's amazing how good pasta and fish taste even when it's made at the campsite.  It's about 8:30pm now and we're hunkered down in the tent waiting for a mountain thunderstorm to pass.  The wind sounds really cool coming down the mountains before it gets to us.  Luckily, it's not raining too hard...yet.  That's it for now.  Tomorrow we hike to Grinell Lake.  

Big hats to cover our ears, neck and faces better.  Or maybe to just  fit in. :)

Sunset at our campsite before the thunderstorm rolled in.

Oh, I forgot to mention the best line ever!  The ranger at Logan Pass, who had suggested Scenic Point, said to "take two pairs of socks because the views will knock your socks off."  He wasn't kidding!

Day 5: July 6, 2012 by Jenn

The day after yesterday.  This morning we slept in and took our time doing much of anything since we had designated today as a "rest day".  Another beautiful day with clear skies.  


We decided to head to Logan Pass again today and do an "easy" hike to Hidden Lake Lookout.  We first had lunch in the parking lot and got on our way around 12:30.  The whole trail, basically, was covered in snow.  After yesterday, we figured "piece of Norske Nook pie" - it was only 1.5 miles one way and 700 ft or so of climbing.  Up we went through a bunch of snow.  


Soon, though, our "piece of Norske Nook pie" became difficult when we had to pass the side of the mountain.  I was terrified but, of course, Geoff passed it easily.  I was near tears and ready to turn around...if only I could figure out how.  Then, a very nice man shared a trekking pole with me till the end.  WHEW.  It took a bit of mental recovery but then I was able to enjoy the views.  In all, we were at about 7,000 ft elevation and could see for many, many miles.  The way back was slightly easier and I was happy to be back on pavement.  

Classic photo op at Logan Pass off of the Going to the Sun Road

Hey look, the boardwalk we were supposedly walking on the whole time to Hidden Lake Overlook!

Hidden Lake

Mountain Goat Mom and Baby

After this, we decided to be touristy and hit the gift shops.  We also spoke to another ranger to narrow down our hikes and we're glad we did.  While many trails are open, they are still very dangerous ones that cross snow fields and avalanche paths.  We have chosen our final hikes - Scenic Point in Two Medicine, Grinnel Lake and - depending on how tired our legs are - Apgar or Huckleberry Lookouts on the West side of the park.  We decided to stick to the East side camps and trails.  While we know we're missing out on "variety", we're seeing spectacular sights and we have been very pleased with our choices!

Tonight we splurged and showered, with plans to eat at Many Glacier Hotel as they just opened up their dining room after one year of renovations.  Walking into the hotel was already great - big log poles and in true "Swiss" style.  There were great photos lining the walls of the glaciers "then and now".  Most of the first photos taken were between 1910-1915, the most recent in the 2000's.  Shocking, to say the least.  Also, the hotel itself has beautiful views of Swiftcurrent Lake with the mountains and glaciers behind.  

When we finally got to the dining room, we were not disappointed.  Modern, but still with a "lodge" fell.  The food was delicious, too.  I had Rocky Mountain trout and Geoff had bison chili and duck with huckleberries for dinner.  For desert, we had huckleberry ice cream.  YUM!  It's been great to camp, but it's nice to treat ourselves here and there, too.  

A pretty darn good attempt at a panoramic of St. Mary's Lake

The dining hall inside of Many Glacier.  Look for Jenn in the photo!

After dinner, we came back to camp.  Let it be known that on this date at about 9:00pm, Geoff has officially handed over all fire starting to me, the Girl Scout (over the Indian Guide :) ).  Boxed wine by the fire before tucking in for the night.  Another great end to another great day!

Day 4: July5, 2012 by Geoff

Today started out as a transitional day from Waterton Park, Canada, back to Glacier NP. But it turned out to be so much better. We decided to get a campsite at Many Glacier campground just north of St. Mary, but in the heart of the mountains. We were thinking of staying somewhere else for another night, but after arriving and picking out an awesome site, we decided to stay for three. We're along the shores of a river and surrounded by mountains. The views are amazing! 

Our campsite

Today it was Iceberg Lake. It was a 5 mile hike  (each way) from our campground, gaining 1200 feet to a lake at the base of a head wall (at 6000 feet). As we climbed up out of the valley and up to close to the treeline, the views got better and better. And since we're still early in the season, the lake was actually still frozen over! So we didn't get to see the pretty blue lake and icebergs, but it was still pretty cool. Also, the last 1/2 mile up to the lake was snow covered, so that was a fun experience too. Besides the spectacular views, the wildflowers are blooming, making for very pretty alpine meadows. 

Luckily for us, Beargrass, a member of the Lilly family, is in bloom this year

The lake is still another mile away!

A bull moose we saw on the way to Iceberg Lake

 Oh-how could I forget to mention the grizzly bear we saw on the way to the campground! It was up on a hill above the road eating a carcass. And close enough that you didn't need binoculars (actually, it was about 150 feet away!) And since we're talking about wildlife, we also saw a big bull moose on the valley floor, while on our hike.  It was pretty far away, but still able to see it. 

Since today was so nice, we were finally able to make a fire - and roast hot dogs (great after a long hike) and marshmallows. We had pasta salad with the hot dogs too. And while I was making the pasta, Jenn spotted another grizzly on the opposite side of the river from our campsite. By the time I went to see it, it was gone, but that's pretty close company. Now we're just sitting and enjoying the fire before we head to bed. 


Editor's note: The final 1 mile up to Iceberg  Lake was snow covered, not 1/2 mile.

Day 3: July 4, 2012 by Jenn

Last night's winds were wild. They kept us up most of the night. The 40mph gust of wind turned into continuous gusts that howled down the mountainside. We asked the ranger this morning how high the winds actually got and they said 50-60mph! Our tent survived but we hardly slept. Upon closer inspection, one of the poles got bent. Still windy today, but nothing like last night. 

Today's plan was to head to Waterton, Alberta, Canada. We got up early - 6:30AM - and packed up the site and made breakfast. On our way to Waterton we saw, what we think, were two grey wolves in a prairie. They looked bigger than coyotes and we think they killed a horse that was laying on its side, not too far away. They ran when they knew they were spotted, but we still got a couple of photos. 

My "Sniper Lens" caught the shot

We got through customs with no problems but had to dump our firewood. It's my first time here, but not Geoff's. The views in the town center were great. One side is rolling hills and prairie and the other side is mountains. Were supposed to go on the International Peace Hike but it got cancelled, as the guides felt it to be unsafe with high streams. 

On top of Bears Hump

Instead, we climbed up Bears Hump. It was really steep - 738 feet of elevation gain - and short - .9 miles up to the top. It was really windy at the top, but the views were worth it! Upper Waterton Lake was framed perfectly. 

Geoff next to a tree's roots (tree is on it's side)

Crossing into British Columbia!

Next we decided to hike to Wall Lake, per the ranger's recommendation. She had said that this miraculous natural occurrence (forgot the name) happened recently, where extremely high winds cam down the slopes and took out many trees. Apparently it's the thing to see, since it happens about every three hundred years. So, We hopped in the car and drove through the park. We parked at the Akamina Pass Trailhead and we were on our way. The first mile or so was very uphill, but then it leveled out a bit more. We hiked through pine forests for over three miles until the forest opened up. Oh - I should mention we crossed into Akamina-Kishnena Provincial Park in British Columbia. Anyways, the view was awesome. Wall Lake looks just like you'd imagine - the lake is surrounded by a wall of mountain rock with plenty of snow. When we reached the waters edge we found what the ranger was talking about. Massive pines were uprooted from the ground and on their side. The breaks were still very new and blocked the very end of the trail. So far, this was our favorite hike. In all, it was 6.5 miles long and climbed 361 feet. My legs are getting sore, but we had hiked 8.5 miles today!

Wall Lake

Waterton Townsite Campsite

After the hike we went back to Waterton Townsite to check in. We had reserved a campsite already. It ended up being right next to the bathrooms and shower, but the views were still great.  After our site was set, we walked through the small town here and showered for the first time since Sunday. You forget how good a shower can feel! 


Now we're just basking in the sun and enjoying the views and the company. Life is good!

Day 2: July 3rd, 2012, written by Geoff

Rain clouds coming over the mountains towards our campsite 

Today is supposed the coolest of the week.  The high was about 52 degrees with periods of rain and high winds.  Some nice sun came through every so often and helped keep it "warm enough".  It took a little longer this morning to get ready but it's the first day of being at the park.  Once we got our breakfast organized, we made some scrambled eggs and sausage links.  Pretty good and super easy to make.  Thank goodness for disposable foam coolers.  We also picked up some good dark coffee yesterday.  Now that the perfect picture is painted, I can tell you that it was raining while I was making said eggs and coffee.  Not hard, but enough to make me work efficiently.  And then eat in the tent.  Once we cleaned up we were off to our first hike of the trip to see Virginia Falls.  

Nothing like a hot breakfast on a chilly and wet morning

 The trail head was on the Going to the Sun Road so getting there was easy and only a few minutes away.  The trail follows the northern shore of St. Mary Lake up to St. Mary Falls but we added a little extra on to see Baring Falls.  A little smaller but worth it.  St. Mary Falls was, well, amazing! The water was moving so fast and a bridge crossed so you could get a good view.  Virginia Falls was another mile further (also uphill). This water fall was taller than St. Mary Falls and well worth the extra distance.  So remember how I said it was raining during breakfast? We ate our PB & J bagel sandwich while hail fell. Yeah, it rained off and on for the whole hike, 5.6 miles in 3 hours.  We have good gear, but it's still rain.  On the way back to the trail head, it was nice to be able to smell all of the pine trees since it rained so much.  It kind of smelled like Christmas.  

St. Mary Falls

Taking shelter from hail but a view of Virginia Falls

Once back at the car we headed up to Logan Pass to check out the Visitor's Center.  It was pretty busy but one of those places that you have to stop at.  The winds, though, were crazy - 40+ miles per hour!  It was so strong you could get blown over if you weren't careful.  And on the way back we stopped at all of the turnouts so we could read about the park and take pictures.  By this time now it had stopped raining.  We were able to get a good picture of Jackson Glacier and Heavy Runner Mountain.  Since it was still only mid-afternoon, we went to the St. Mary Visitor Center to check it out, too.  They talked a lot about the Native Americans who had originally owned this land.  

Jackson Glacier.  We think the ultra white section in the middle is actually the  glacial section

It's a couple hours later and we're back at the campsite waiting out the next round of rain and planning dinner so we don't end up cooking in the rain.  That's it for now!  Oh - I forgot that we spotted a couple grizzlies by the campground!  

Close enough for us!

Day 1. July 2 2012, by Jenn

Arrived in Kalispell, MT at 1 pm. It was about 74 degrees and sunny - a great break from the recent hot weather in Madison! We rented a car and drove into town to pick up food, fuel for the stove, and a cooler.  After deciding what kind of dried food to eat for eight days (and searching high and low for boxed wine and Big Sky Brewing beer :) ) we set out to the Going To The Sun Rd.

Geoff drove the Ford Fusion and I held out the camera to catch all of the views. Holy cow! They got better and better as we got further in. Geoff was a brave and attentive driver... I only got nervous a few times. The road got more narrow up the hill but the views of the mountains kept opening up. 

Geoff being a good driver :)

Bird Woman Falls

View from almost the top...

About half way up, we encountered four big horn sheep strolling on the road.  It was a hilarious sight - they were in no hurry and obeyed most traffic laws.  When we reached Logan Pass, there was quite a bit of snow.  They only opened the whole road about a week and a half ago. We didn't stop - our hope was to get to our campsite soon since, by now, it was around 5pm.  5:30 says Geoff.  The views to St. Mary were different than before - mountains were more red and the trees seemed to be slightly different.  We noticed right away the burn region by St. Mary Lake.  A sad sight for sure, but it's good knowing there was new growth sprouting.  

Geoff is pretty darn good at setting up our "home"

We arrived at our campsite at St. Mary (C137) and boy did we luck out.  We have a site on the perimeter of the campground and the park.  It's quiet and we can hear the rushing of St. Mary River behind us.  There are wonderfully fragrant bushes surrounding our site - sort of like lilac.  

After we set up the site, we went into St. Mary and got firewood. Geoff thought it would be fun to eat at St. Mary Lodge on our first night.  Great views and the food was pretty good, too.  We came back to camp and started a fire.  Oh yeah- we met with a ranger at the Visitor Center.  She was great and we look forward to using her advise in the coming days...Anyways, the sun "set" over the mountains around 9:30pm but it's after 10pm and still bright.  We're hoping our early morning will help us sleep tonight and help us adjust to it all.  We're enjoying our boxed wine and each other's company - great "start" to vacation.  

View at night from our campsite towards the moon and mountains. 

 P.S. Geoffrey proposed two days ago and so we've been celebrating and savoring the days.  People joked that our trip would feel like a honeymoon...but it actually does. :)

It's been a while

So... it's been kind of a long time since I've written in my blog. Since my last post, things have changed quite a bit. The reason I started writing in the first place was so my friends and family could read about what I did while I was supporting professional cycling teams. But since then, I've switched jobs and that's a hat I no longer need to wear. I have to admit, it's pretty nice being home so much more. But with me being home so much, Pursey wasn't able to visit her best friend as much. So Jenn and I adopted Nelson, a German Shorthaired Pointer-Lab mix. He has so much energy and has become inseparable from Pursey. 

That was back in April. It's been a "fun" few months with Nelson. He passed his family dog class with flying colors and is getting better at listening with each passing... week. 

Since then, we've been busy doing who knows what. I guess that's life though. It a long time ago that we planned our recent vacation to Glacier National Park.It was amazing! But I'll get to that soon. But before we could fly off to Montana, I had bigger plans. On June 30th, I asked Jenn if she would marry me. I won't go through all of the details of how it happened, but it was pretty awesome! We soaked it in privately for a couple of days, telling only a few close friends, before heading to Glacier NP for nine days. 

This was a photo we took just before heading to dinner at Lombardino's, where we hadn't eaten since our first date. Like I said, it was awesome. 

That's the last six months in review. It's been a great ride so far and the next six (and more) months are going to be even better. That said, we made a journal everyday while in Montana. For the next eight days, I'm going to make a new post, rewriting the journal entry from the day. I'll  also include a few pictures from each day so you can see what all the hype is about. I think that's it. Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow night for another update.

The (Semi)Classics

If you've kept up with my not-so-frequent blog posts, you know that CycleOps is sponsoring the Dutch team Vacansoleil-DCM this year. It's a newer team with a roster that continues to improve. So now that the racing season is in full swing, it's time for me to keep my bags packed and head to Belgium for a couple of the early semi-classics. This week it's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

I arrived on Wednesday in Brussels and drove 90 minutes to the service course in The Netherlands. While my handy GPS makes getting there easy, driving around still has it's nuances. The biggest thing I always have to get used to, is the cycle paths. They're everywhere. But the coolest part, is that they're either painted red or use red brick, so you always know where they are. You just have to remember not to stop or park on them. Anyway, after a half day of updating our hubs, I drove down to Geraardsbergen, Belgium, where some of the guys from the team were staying. It was a B and B called Hakuna Matata, which is a little funny to me. All I can think of is The Lion King. Back to my story. They stay here because it's in the middle of nowhere and they can train on some of the cobbled roads/climbs and get used to their new equipment. Speaking of equipment, they're provided with new bikes that are a little bit more forgiving for the classics. They'll probably only ride these a few times a season, but they're well worth the extra comfort after a long day in the saddle and 20 km in total of cobblestones (the races are usually about 200-250 km, depending on the race). After a final training session in Geraardsbergen, we left on Friday morning to our new hotel in Drongen, which is just outside Gent. They use this hotel as their headquarters for the next month or so, while they race the Ardennes classics. It's a pretty nice hotel with good food and internet, which is a nice change.

Once here, I did some work with our new computers, updated some more hubs and before I knew it, it was time for dinner. And as a nice treat, it was steak! With an endless supply of frites. It wouldn't be Belgium without frites, would it? Dinner was good and then I headed off to my room for a good night's rest, before Saturday's race, Omloop. For the race, I chose to ride with the team. It makes life easier and that way I didn't have to worry about parking and all that stuff that's hard when you don't speak the language. With the bus staying in one spot for the entirety of the race, I was able to walk around the city center a little. There's some pretty cool/old architecture in Gent, so I snapped a few photos before heading back to the bus to eat lunch and watch the race (inside the bus). It was a good race, but not without it's share of crashes, that took down a couple of the Vacansoleil riders. They finished, but man their bikes were in pretty rough shape.

Sunday was Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. It's another 200 km race that starts and finishes in the same place, which is another nice convenience for me. It's called the sprinters race, I think largely becasue the last 35 km or so, is a double circuit of Kuurne. Kind of like a big criterium (for you Wisco-based readers). It's always fun to watch, even if the riders fly past at crazy speeds. The race ended with Kenny Van Hummel from Vacansoleil sprinting for third. Pretty good considering current World Champion Mark Cavendish won. The team was happy with the result and I was happy with my stuff. All in all, it was a good day.

Now it's back to the states on an easy one-stop trip. It's been another great trip to Europe, but after being away from home15 out of 18 days, I'm ready for some down time. Thanks for reading!

Geoff

Bonjourno!

It's nice to have a chance to write in my blog again. It means that team support and the travel that goes with it is starting again. This trip starts the 2012 team support with a Dutch team called Vacansoleil-DCM.

The first camp of the year is always interesting. There are new riders, new equipment, and new sponsors. Riders are figuring out their new bikes, mechanics are learning the nuances of the equipment, and I'm here to make sure the nuances are manageable for the team and the riders and all are educated enough as to not create a major disaster. The fun of having a fairly technical product.

12/14: Most people expect Italy to be beautiful. I'm sure it is normally, but I can't say for certain since it's been dark and rainy since I arrived. It's been raining and windy the entire week. The hotel is an interesting one.  It's connected to a half full mall. It was probably nice at one point. This actually works out nice though, because I'm able to do some my work in a large "bike room". The only downside, is that the only light in the room is a small floor lamp. Oh well, at least it's out of the cold, wind, and rain. 

12/15: It's still raining. Today for the training ride, I went with one of the directors. It was cold and windy, but guys were still able to ride about 5 hours. No problems came up during the ride, so that's always nice. It means we did a good job of redesigning the new hub. Post-ride, I found some more "birds" to tend to, which means a little more time in my bike room. Thankfully I'm getting pretty good at getting rid of the birds. After this I spent a few hours talking with the riders and getting them up and running with our software. It's a little challenging when internet is slow and spotty and best, but I was prepared, and got almost everyone straightened out. 

12/16: Another day of the same. Another 5 hours in the car, another bird to kill, and check in with the riders before dinner. It's nice to sa

12/17: It was finally nice! Sunny and mostly warm, which is to say in the high 50s probably. Instead of going with the riders I stayed with the mechanics today to get the race bikes ready for the Tour Down Under next month in Australia. It's the first race of the year and always a rush for the team to get everything ready in time. 

12/18: Some of the riders left yesterday after training and the rest had an easy 1.5 hour spin this morning before heading to the airport. So with that, my work was done. A very successful camp! Now what? It's 11:30 in the morning and my flight isn't for another 18 hours. How about go to Pisa and see the most famous tower in the world? That sound like a good idea and it's only 35km away. Easy. As it turns out, there's more to Pisa than just the tower. There's a cathedral too. And it's surrounded by a wall, which I guess is pretty typical of medieval Italy . I didn't go to the top of the leaning tower, but did go inside the cathedral, which was impressive to say the least. The Pisa Marathon was today too, which was, well, just like a marathon on the states. It was lunch time so I stopped at a little ristorante and had a spicy salami pizza. As I expected, it was fantastic. It's hard to beat to true Italian style pizza. I easily found my way back to the car and hopped back on the A11 back to Montecatini-Terme, where the training camp was. I'll hang out here for the rest of the afternoon before getting up extra-early tomorrow morning.

Well that's it. My week in Italy compressed into 1000 words or less. Ciao!

Now that I've had some rest and I know where I am, I'll continue writing. So Saturday we tool the train into London's Paddington Station. It's an impressive building with super-tall ceilings with what looks like wrought iron ornamentation. Very intricate stuff. We knew where the hotel was located, but had know idea how to get there. Thankfully, we hopped in a cab, because we would have gotten lost, dragging our suitcases down the sidewalk. Our hotel was in Central London, across the street from Hyde Park. Amazing. London has to be the most international city I've ever been to. In any direction there was a different type of cuisine. We did a bit of walking around, but unfortunately most of the shops were closed since it was late-ish on a Saturday. But still, the streets were packed. We stopped for some snacks at a French-Lebonese restaurant, which was pretty good. I had no idea they speak French there. From there, we walked back to the hotel to get a sweater and headed to dinner. We ended up at the best Indian restaurant I've ever been to. The food was all French inspired as well. Of course, I had to try the filleted duck breast in a red curry sauce. It had a fancy French name which I could pronounce, but can't remember. Wow, was it good. So that was London. Check back for more on other cities as we make our tour of Europe this week.
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Because half the time I travel, I don't always know where I am. Literally and figuratively.

Let's look at yesterday as an example. Work is super busy right now, as we're getting ready to launch an entire new line of products. Our sales team is in town to learn about the products too. And I have other work responsibilities to take care of too. All that, means running around like chicken without a head. And oh wait. It's time to fly to Europe for a week of distributor training.

Transatlantic flights aren't too bad when you've done it a gazillion times. I do my best to sleep, but this time was a little harder. It's not easy to sleep when you're not tired and it's still sunny outside the plane. But I managed. Anyway, after leaving the airport, we immediately headed to our distributor to give the presentation on very little sleep. Had some Mediterranean dinner and called it a night at 10.

Now it's Saturday, so after breakfast we were able to get a nice 65 km bike ride in through the English countryside. We stopped about halfway for tea and a muffin along an old canal. Pretty cool. And since it's still Saturday, we're taking the train to London, where we'll spend the night.
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Another week, another trip

By the end of this week, I'll have flown about 27,000 miles since January 1st this year.  It's a pace that can be tiring, but at the same time I get to see a lit of cool places.  This week started by heading to the sunny state of California, where I spent a couple days at Specialized, getting their pro triathletes riding on PowerTaps.  I also had some time to chat with them about why they should train with power and how to use the fancy yet not so complicated Joule computers.  Usually when you talk to pro athletes about product, their eyes kind of glaze over and they don't usually ask many questions.  This time, we actually had a pretty good conversation.  Training with power is key and triathletes really need to embrace it, so I'm glad they asked questions.  After all, they're training for three disciplines at once, not just riding their bike around a business park or empty country road.  Plus, when age groupers see the pros training and racing with power, they'll want to pick it up too.  

So after a couple days in Morgan Hill, I headed to the metro Dallas area to do some clinics to do some product clinics for the staff at Richardson Bike Mart.  They start tomorrow and then I head back on Friday afternoon.  Now I'm going to watch a show about shark attacks.  

I heart Tucson

Tucson is awesome in probably more ways than I know, but here's why I like it. It's 4 PM and the "wind chill" is 85. Without the 20 mph wind, it's 89. That's awesome. I wonder how hot it was when we were riding at 1? It also has mountains and the hotel's altitude is about 2700 feet. Cacti (I think that's plural for lots o' cactus) are 25 feet tall and are everywhere you'd expect a tree to be. They have gun shows. For my work friends that read this, that isn't referring to Thursday lunch rides. The riding is amazing. Roads go up and down and have swooping turns. There's hills that last for miles. For example, Mt Lemmon is a 2 hour climb. And my favorite thing about Tucson is the food. I think Mexico is about 50 miles away, so there's lots of Mexican food. Not Tex-Mex... The real deal.

So back to my job. This morning was typical for a camp. Breakfast, relax, hurry up and get everything ready, wait a bit, then ride. The campers are pretty easy to work with and seem interested in training with power. That's always a plus. After getting everyone setup, we headed out for a ride. I spent the first part of the ride hangin with the Matt Lieto-led group. He's a great guy with a great story about how he became a top-level triathlete. The second half I hung with Linsey Corbin and Matt Dixon's group. This one was a little faster pace and Matt was nice enough to have me leading the group for a while. It's a good thing I can ride at a steady pace... It was nice to get some hard efforts in, too. Then we went up the steep side of Gates Pass. Think 17+% for the last 1/4 mile. I crushed it. Seriously, I think they were a little surprised to see the guy from "flat" Wisco flying up the hill. Then 30 minutes screaming downhill. Also awesome; it's a good thing the Euskaltels gave me some practice last month.

Now time to watch the UW basketball game, which is a little more fun because of all the fellow 'Sconnies staying at the hotel. I can't have too much fun though, my flight leaves at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Ugh.
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March madness

Typically, March Madness refers to college basketball. For me and my com padres in the cycling industry, it means training camps and season opening sales. In past years I've done my time selling racks to all those buying new bikes. Now, I get to support training camps. Score! First March Madness reference. After spending most of the day on an airplane to Tucson, and as it turns out, the tourney is in town. Second March Madness reference. I was able to get a short ride in, which was nice. It's good to start short here. I mean, we're in the desert after all. After checking in with those running the camp, it's time to sit at the pool and relax a little. Oh, and the UW basketball team is staying at the hotel. Third March Madness reference. Well I'm starting to lose function of my thumbs (this is written on Blackberry). Thanks for reading.
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Day 3

Today was my last day with the team. Not really a very nice day, but thankfully I was able to borrow a rain jacket and rubber gloves for the ride. It was a relatively easy 2 hour ride. What is relatively easy ride for a pro team in the cold and rain? 25kph. Not slow, but a pace that I can ride for hours on end. If only I had worn the bibs they gave me, any onlooker would think I was part of the team. Pretty cool.

So after cleaning up after the ride, it back to work for a little bit before heading to the airport. All in all it was a good trip. The only thing that could have made it better was being able to speak Spanish. Maybe by the next trip I'll know a little more. Until then, thanks for reading and I'll put a few pics up on Facebook when I get home.
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Day 2

Today was nice. It was sunny and probably in the mid-50s before the start of the ride. There was some media, similar to our VeloNews. The ride was good, but hilly. Nothing like 5k climbs to kick you into shape. For me the ride lasted about 90 minutes before I was slowed by a mechanical, then paced back to the group behind the follow car (by the way, that was pretty cool by itself). After more shifting problems, the mechanics stopped and fixed the problem, although I decided at the same time just to call it a day. I wasn't sure how many more of those climbs I could have taken.

So eventually I got back to the hotel, cleaned up, ate, and did some other work with our Spanish distributor, ate again, and off to bed.
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Land of the Euskaltels

The last two days have been crazy. Here's a quick recap. Arrive at Madison's wonderful airport at 9 am Monday. Thanks to Chicago's wonderful weather my flight is delayed until 1, which means I'll miss my connection. So I get on the phone with the very helpful people at United's frequent flyer program and after trying to figure out how to get to Alicante, they rerouted my entire trip. It turned out okay. My layovers were a little longer (which means a little less stress, especially when connecting through Madrid) and arriving 8 hours later. And after 36 hours, I made it to the hotel just in time for dinner. That may not seem bad, but pro teams eat around 9 PM. So after some good appetizers, and okay pork dinner (I wasn't about to have fish after my last experience), and a couple glasses of good, Spanish red wine, I was off to bed by midnight.

Fast forward 8 hours (yes, I slept 8 hours). I've traveled to Europe so many times over the past year I don't really get much jet lag, but it was nice to sleep laying down, for the first time since Sunday. Breakfast was good. Bacon, eggs, croissants, and of course coffee. The coffee here is amazing.

By now you're probably wondering, is he ever going to go to work? Ah, right. After checking in with the mechanics and making sure everything is AOK, it's time to change into my riding gear and go for a spin... With the team. Right, we'll see how long that lasts.

I guess I forgot to mention that I'm at the Euskaltel-Eskadi training camp in Alicante, Spain. I'll write more later.
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So many of you have gotten used to reading my blog about my latest worldly travels.  However, it's been a while since I got home from Hawaii and I still don't have any new travel plans.  As much as I love travelling around the world, it's also just as nice to be home.  So I think today I'll write a little about fall.  Trees turn colors, gardens get put to bed, 'cross racing, UW football games, painting my kitchen, and catching up with friends.   It's a great time of year to not be traveling.  What that also means, is that it's almost Thanksgiving, a holiday I really enjoy.  It's more than the good food, which is always great.  I like sitting back and thinking about all the things to be thankful for.  I've had a pretty awesome year thanks to so many people.

I'll try to do a better job of posting in the coming months, so keep tuning in... you never know when or where I might be sent a another part of the world.

Kona

Aloha!  After being home a week on the dot from Interbike, I headed to Kona for the Ironman World Championships.  This is our first year CycleOps is going to the race.  It's pretty amazing and hard to put into words.  I'm used to long flights, but the flight from Chicago to Maui seemed to take forever.  It's nine hours, which isn't too bad, but they didn't serve a complimentary meal.  Really?!?  After having breakfast in the airport, I had to pay like $20 for a small lunch on the plane.  Thankfully I had a good book to read.

The layover in Maui was long enough to have a Kona Brewing Co Longboard Lager, which was the perfect way   to adjust to life in Hawaii.  You can't by KBC in Madison.  Or least I haven't found it yet.  The airport in Kona is amazing.  It's all outdoors!  Baggage claim is under a huge "hut" for lack of a better word and of course there's palm trees everywhere.  Of course my baggage didn't show up, but whatever.  I knew it would eventually show up, which it did, but I wasn't going to sweat it.  I mean I'm in Hawaii, it could be worse.  My coworker arrived a little after me, we picked up the rental car, and headed to the hotel.  You'll notice I said coworker.  That's right, I actually get to work with someone on this trip.  Sweet!  The hotel in nice.  It's the Sheraton Keahou Bay.  It's pretty huge, but the views are amazing and you can watch manta rays feeding after dark from one of the bars here.  Very cool!  So we arrived Saturday night, rested on Sunday, then set up our booth on Monday and Tuesday.  We were able to get a little sightseeing in and even hit the beach for a little after setup on Tuesday.  I should mention though, that there aren't a ton of beaches in Kona.  There are still active volcanoes on the island, so the shores are mostly just lava flows.  Don't get me wrong.  It's pretty cool.  But anyway, the "beach" is about 45 minutes away and man was it nice.  Crystal clear and bright blue water, flanked by lava rocks.  Simply amazing.  The expo has been steady and it's good to talk tech stuff with the athletes.  Power is new to triathlon, so there's a lot of education involved as well.  Stuff I like doing.  As the race gets closer, the energy is starting to build.  This morning before the expo started was the Underpants run.  Yes, underpants.  Think lots of triathletes running around in their underwear.  Real underwear, men and women, kids, costumes, you get the idea.  It was definitely entertaining.  Tomorrow is the bike count.  Again, for those of you who follow the sport, everything bike related is counted during bike check in.  That means power meters, wheels, bikes, components, tires, saddles, pedals, the list goes on and on.  What that means though, is sitting in a chair staring at bikes zipping past for six hours.  I might need to set an alarm so I remember to reapply sunscreen to my close-to-bald-by-choice head.  I've already burnt my head once this trip and I don't intend to do it again.  Anyway, we went to dinner tonight at this restaurant right on Ali'i Dr.  It's the main drag through downtown and we were treated to quite an amazing sunset.  The best yet!

Well I think that's about it for now.  Oh, one more thing.  if you want to see my pictures, you'll have to find me on Facebook.  Hopefully I'll update this again before I leave, to recap of the actual race experience (from the spectator perspective, of course).  Until then, mahalo for for reading.