Leaving for Le Tour of Ohio

Today has been event packed so far. After breakfast Erin and I took a bike ride north along the Greenbay Trail to the Ravinia Metra stop. It was really nice to finally go for a bike ride with her. By the time we got back home she was ready to be done. I forgot how people who don't ride all that much don't have much of a tolerance for sitting on a saddle for extended periods of time.

After showers we went down to Wicker Park to look at an apartment owned by friends of the family. It was small!!! Erin and I need to readjust out expectations for an apartment in Chicago. I think I'll need to land a job before we can start think about paying rent for any place that we'd find acceptable. The trip wasn't a bust. We got an idea of the kind of apartments that we can expect in the city and got to have lunch with Emily.

I had to stop at Turin to get supplies for ToOh on the way home. CC gave me the briefing on Ohio and then I came home to pack. My computer is the last thing to pack before I'm ready to go and the adventure begins!

Judson Ride without sprints

Looking forward to next week's Tour of Ohio, I chose not to sprint during the group ride this morning. This past week has been fantastic weather. I hope it keeps up!

The ENH Grand Prix

I got my picture taken today as part of the announcement/press realease for the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Grand Prix of Cycling. It's the new Evanston Superweek race. Not only is Turin a sponsor of a Superweek race, but it's been designated as an NRC race as well. I'm excited. After the presentation, CC and I answered questions for a Pioneer Press (Evanston Review) reporter. I didn't get his name, but I hope to be quoted in the paper!

When I was a Cat 3 I won the Bensenville Superweek race. As far as I can remember, that was the last time that my parents saw me win a race. Now, I know I can't realistically win an NRC race in my current condition, but I will be mixing it up with the field in front of the residents of the town I grew up. Eddy Van Guyse will call my name with good reason that night.

Time to get Back On Track

Much has happened in the past month of no posting. It's made life too tiring to post, but I'm going to be doing my best to keep up with current posts and to work backward to fill in the enormous gap.

Congrats Mom

This evening Gates of Learning Preschool (mom's work) held a dinner to celebrate it's 10th anniversary of operation. Dad, Emily, Erin, and I arrived late for the preceding services due to a miscommunication, but we sure didn't miss the dinner. I'm really proud of mom. It's amazing to see all that she's created and all the families she's touched in the past 10 years at the temple. I was ready to put some space between myself and anyone younger than 5 by the end though. After they brought the dessert out, there was a significant increase in running in circles and screaming among the children. Tomorrow is the Winfield Twilight crit.

In Chicago, for good this time

It took an extra hour, but Erin and I got out of St. Louis. I had to reschedule my chiropractic appointment for later in the afternoon, but it gave us time to have lunch/breakfast with Ben. At Dr. Shawn's we found out that I have more of a rotation in my hips than a translation. The curves in my back and neck are good although I could use a little more curve near the top of the lumbar vertebrae. I think Erin and I are going to stay here (at my parents house) for a few days or at least until we're unpacked enough to start living in Wilmette.

Last Day

Erin and I spent the day doing chores. The last harrah so to speak. We've got plans to hang out with Ben later on.

Fifth Day of Racing

After a day of packing/cleaning, I decided to head over to Carondelet to do the Tuesday Night Crit. I don't know if I'll be back in St. Louis again this year for the crit. I'll miss it. I also set up an appointment for Thursday afternoon to see Dr. Shawn for chiropractic x-rays. As a consequence, Erin and I will spend another night in St. Louis. I'm exhausted.

Quad Cities Crit

Quad Cities was our best team race to date. John, Jamie, Derek, and Erik were near the front the entire race. Everyone followed important moves and worked well together. The team plan was to make sure that neither Brian Jensen or Adam Bergman got away. They made the decisive breaks everyday that weekend, and I figured that the same would be the case today. It was. Unfortunately we still missed the break. I was of no use because I wasn't close enough to the front when it went. Jamie, Erik, and I got to the front at the end to scrap together a 10th, 17th, and 26th. It was good to finally make some money! It was a long trip back to St. Louis, but Erin and I are back for the final time to close out the apartment.

Melon City

Today was the Melon City crit. CC was supposed to meet us two hours before the race so that we could take team pictures and talk race strategy. She was speeding on the way over and was stopped and ticketed so the pre-race schedule was tossed out. The six of us still met and talked race tactics. I don't particularly like this course, but I rode it better than I ever have. The team raced well together, and many lessons were learned. John and I finished 28th and 32nd respectively. We took team photos in Cobb Park after the race. It was quite a scene and took much longer than it should have. After post-race showers Jamie, John, Lindsay (John's girlfriend), Erik, Sean, Andy, Derek, Dr. Sean (team chiropractor), CC, Erin, and I went out for dinner at Salvatore's. We ordered four 20" pizzas. I can't believe we ate as much as we did. I credit Derek with the bulk of the eating.