All Together Now
Almost, anyway. Next weekend is the big MS 150 weekend we've all been training for, and Patrick has arrived back in Texas to make his final preparations. Since he's had to do all his training on his own, so far, Bob, Sarah, and I joined him yesterday for a 44-mile training ride.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, and as we headed out around 11:30 it was already quite warm. I broke out my sleeveless jersey for the first time this year.
We headed out through Flower Mound to Lake Grapevine, where Bob took off like a jackrabbit. Earlier in the season, when he took off like that, he paid for it later in the ride—but not yesterday. He rode strong all day. Bob always claims to be a 12-13 mph guy, but between this year's training and his borrowed Specialized Roubaix, he's flying.
Next, we headed out through the rolling hills toward Argyle. With the recent rains, the countryside was very green and quite beautiful. Sarah and I particularly enjoyed seeing elaborate homes, the baby cows, and the pet horse that followed along beside its master's riding mower and munched the freshly cut grass.
After the first good climb, Patrick decided that riding in the 30 mph Uruguayan winds was not quite the same thing as real hills. His borrowed bike wasn't fitting him well, and he had only one water bottle for the day. Fighting dehydration and hand numbness, he soldiered on—but I think it's safe to say he didn't enjoy himself as much as the rest of us.
Fortunately, this ride identified some problems that need attention. With a week before the MS 150, there's still time to make some adjustments to bike positioning, and so forth.
Back at Bob's house, we learned that our special team jerseys had arrived, and Bob gave us a first glimpse. I know there were some issues getting them this year, and they don't look anything like the previous Wheeler Dealer jerseys, but I think they look pretty sharp. We're all meeting at Sarah's this afternoon for a final planning session and to receive our jerseys, so I hope to have a picture of the jerseys to share with our sponsors later today.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, and as we headed out around 11:30 it was already quite warm. I broke out my sleeveless jersey for the first time this year.
We headed out through Flower Mound to Lake Grapevine, where Bob took off like a jackrabbit. Earlier in the season, when he took off like that, he paid for it later in the ride—but not yesterday. He rode strong all day. Bob always claims to be a 12-13 mph guy, but between this year's training and his borrowed Specialized Roubaix, he's flying.
Next, we headed out through the rolling hills toward Argyle. With the recent rains, the countryside was very green and quite beautiful. Sarah and I particularly enjoyed seeing elaborate homes, the baby cows, and the pet horse that followed along beside its master's riding mower and munched the freshly cut grass.
After the first good climb, Patrick decided that riding in the 30 mph Uruguayan winds was not quite the same thing as real hills. His borrowed bike wasn't fitting him well, and he had only one water bottle for the day. Fighting dehydration and hand numbness, he soldiered on—but I think it's safe to say he didn't enjoy himself as much as the rest of us.
Fortunately, this ride identified some problems that need attention. With a week before the MS 150, there's still time to make some adjustments to bike positioning, and so forth.
Back at Bob's house, we learned that our special team jerseys had arrived, and Bob gave us a first glimpse. I know there were some issues getting them this year, and they don't look anything like the previous Wheeler Dealer jerseys, but I think they look pretty sharp. We're all meeting at Sarah's this afternoon for a final planning session and to receive our jerseys, so I hope to have a picture of the jerseys to share with our sponsors later today.
posted by Mike at
9:40 AM
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