From the bottom of the well

So much to say. My rest day of several days before was anything but that. Woken up to Lori telling our room that we were supposed to be out of our rooms in thirty minutes. Rushed out the door and into a cramped car. A two and a half hour drive turned four hours thanks to standstill Chicago traffic. We arrive in Cedarburg Wisconsin where Carlos, Andrew and I are staying with Steve, a gay butcher (how do i end up with the gay hosts?). I got a sweet spot in the basement, no kidding. Amenities include washer, dryer, toilet, tv with the tour and stereo. All I have to do is wear long socks and a hoodie so I dont freeze at night.


Ah, my first espresso since I left Austin.


The bike path literally runs right behind Steve's backyard. Oh yeah, on the other side of the path is a cemetery. The night we got here Carlos was supposed to be sleeping in the room upstairs. I was in the basement, up late, talking on the phone. Carlos thought he heard voices from the graveyard and was ready to get outta there until he checked the basement.


One day we will all grow old and die or in his case roots.



Before we left the Extended Stay, Tristian and I were going to the grocery store. The elevator was bare walled and I could tell he was ready to put a fresh pair of sneaker prints up. At the last minute I held the elevator for someone coming down. This meant Tristian would have to wait.
The guy got in the elevator and an ominous silence ensued with everyone looking down. The stranger broke the silence asking Tristian if he was the one putting the shoe marks on the elevator walls. It was then that I noticed Tristian and this guy were both wearing the same shoes. How this guy knew what the soles of his shoes looked like leads me to believe there are some things in life that escape me.

Now we're at the bottom
My racing of the last couple of nights has been nonexcuscable. Fortunately, getting pulled from Friday's race could have been a blessing since it started to rain and the field saw mass amounts of wrecks that resulted in a concussion and ambulance ride for the yellow jersey. I just wish it hadn't happened to me in the first twenty minutes. Was I frustrated? Yes, I had finally felt my preperation had been optimal but I rode the next hour and a half in the beautiful countryside of Wisconsin.
Last night was a little worse, if that is possible. I will say in my defense that I really had no warm up, but I did get a start right at the front. On the turn to the start/finish I kept getting gapped and after two laps was unable to close it down and required about five guys to close it for me each lap. About the sixth lap I was off the back and two laps later was getting pulled.
From the outside, looking in, this was to be expected. Now I start improving...