Madera: Stage Two & Three, ITT and Crit

This morning I felt sick (just like the past couple of days).  I'll admit, I slept amazingly in the comfortable beds and with the earplugs we got last night. (the word is that with earplugs you sleep better, your lighter REM sleep isn't interrupted, etc..)  Having used them, I'd actually say that my already great sleep was even better!
Then off to the lobby we found tons of awesome food!  Then we all drove out to the time trial course.  I've got a few pictures from after my race.  I had the opportunity to borrow Jeff's 58 and 80mm wheels for the time trial.  He still nearly caught me on his TT bike, having started 1 minute behind me.  Our goal was for me not to get caught, and for him to catch me.  I'd have to say as simple of a goal it was, it seemed to work!  But, looking back and seeing a rider right on your tail is pretty demotivating, so I only looked back once.  On the other hand, Jeff said he saw me right there in his sights and went pretty deep in the headwind trying to catch me and had to back off a bit.  But STILL, he was about 10 seconds or so behind me at the finish.  That TT was brutal, especially the wind at the end!

This is the fastest this bike has ever looked! (thanks Jeff!)

Lots of blossoms in the orchards where we've been racing lately. 

Me after my time trial. I did alright. Didn't get last! The skinsuit/aero helmet/tt bars and aero wheels were nice. 

We were treated with blue skies today. (I hear it's raining in Chico)

Crit time!

After all that fun, we were back at the hotel where I enjoyed a shower before we rode to the crit.  Jeff used "the force" to get us there.  Not too shabby, just a road along the way that was under construction.  It was the ride back where his force went wrong.  We trekked through a plowed field by the highway after realizing that our road turned to gravel.  All in all we made it, and I've been told that in years past Madera has been the stage race where getting lost/strange events happen.

Team dinner.  We at at "Sal's", a Mexican food place.  The waitress must have known we were going to have to pay a gratuity tip, because she was quite helpful! (That, or she along with everyone else in Madera, is a nice person!)  We had so many chips brought out I almost literally was full off of chips.  That salsa was the bomb, and we had plenty of water to go around.  (Water is one of those must-haves after a long day of racing).  Our food was great, the whole night was great.  Having 10 people sitting together chatting and enjoying food.  This weekend has been great so far, and I've had a blast spending time with the team.

Tomorrow's road race will be a doozie with the rough roads and possible winds.  I've heard from Dave many times what will most likely pan out for tomorrow in not only the P/1/2 but the 3's and possibly 4's.  The wind is going to make a selection, along with riders in the gutter burning matches if they don't get out of that wind.  My personal goal is to ride smart, ride near the front (if that's even possible), and try not to overdo myself in the first half of the race.

Now, with this time change, I'm off to bed before it gets too late! Don't forget to set your clocks back! (but with the technology these days, you probably won't have to do that!)

Our hotel kindly reminded us of the time change! How thoughtful.

Having some fun with the full size mirror in the hallway. 

-Night everyone!