We glide when we ride...

This weekend was packed full of bike riding and very little else. I defied the weather and made two great days of it. I am testing a new rigid fork for the guys across the pond and could not wait to try it out. After some last minute planning, I met the Murfreesboro crew around 11Am on Saturday up on Monteagle. I have only ridden the Sewanee trails a few times over the years. It is always nice to do these rides with people who know their way around. The trail was super fun. Just enough moisture on the ground to make the technical sections even tougher than I remembered. There were several sections that required some major finesse as well as torque management on the single speed. Steep rocky sections would be followed with a creek crossing or some other wetness and I had to fight spinning out.

The outer rim section of the perimeter loop is amazing. You ride along the top of the mountain weaving in and out of these rock paths with just enough line available to give you enough confidence to go for it and hope nothing goes wrong. One wrong move and you are falling to your death, well you would probably hope to die if you did fall. We spent several hours in the woods all the while hoping that it was going to warm up...it never did. The pond was frozen, the ground was frozen and my the end of the ride, my toes were frozen. But it was great to meet up with the guys and get a solid ride in. Many of those fellas are hitting up the Icycle in NC next weekend so it was great to hang out with them before hand. I will be down in North Georgia hoping to shave some time off of my last Snake Creek time.

Sunday morning, Jason and I got up way before the sun rise and made the ritual trip to Cracker Barrel before a long day on the bike. We were some of the very few at breakfast that morning. It was nice. The shortest in and out visit that I can remember. No time warp phenomeon this day. We started at the pump station at the base of Raccoon Mountain and began our climb around 7:30AM.

The sun was just beginning to come up over the ridge. It gave a false sense of warmth which I appreciated. By the time we made it to the top of the mountain, I had warmed up significantly. The ground was still frozen so the trail was in great shape for the first few hours. We made a complete loop and hit all of the inside sections that do not get as much traffic as the perimeter trail. We ran into one person on the first loop.

After a quick snack stop at the overlook parking lot, we began a modified second loop that covered much of the same terrain as the first, but backwards to mix it up. By this time, the freeze thaw effect had begun and there were a few sections that were a little sloppy, but not too bad or damaging. We rode until the sun was high in the sky and decided that we had enough. After getting back to the car and checking the time, it was 12:45PM. We were having so much fun that we were out for an hour or so longer than we had planned. On the way back down the mountain, there were a ton of folks that were heading up with bikes in tow...I hope they did not completely trash the trails due to sleeping in.

After a full weekend on the new fork, I have to say that I like it more than the Rock Solid. The bigger and beefier drop outs seem to provide a stiffer front end and way better tracking. It is a bit heavier, 100 g's but that is relatively insignificant to me. I am looking forward to racing it this coming weekend to truly get a feel for what it can handle. So far so good...thanks to my mates in the shed.

Where it's at

First off, here is a photo of a Lynskey Rando bike that Gary B. of bikeradar.com is riding and reviewing. I absolutely love this bike. Nice comfortable all-day geometry with room for fatties and fenders. I defiantly want one of these...how many times have I said that since working there. We are dope for folks who have money to spend on their addiction. My father says it best, "Cycling is cheaper than golf and easily 100 times better for you". Although he is not a doctor, I have yet to finad few that disagree. Opinions are welcome.

Work:
As parts begin to arrive, the pressure goes up and the clock spins faster, at least in my world. A few issues on the design and fabrication front have set us back a little, but it has been great to problem solve these issues with some finest builders around. Building a prototype is a mixed bag of what you know will work and what you hope will work. No matter how it looks on paper, it always comes out a bit different. Now multiply that by 3, subtract several weeks, add a loose array of components that do not want to work and you have a pretty good idea of where I am right now. But don't get me wrong, this is a ton of fun. This has been similar to the Vegas experience but slightly smaller in scale. We are taking a similar bike load to this show, but I have very little booth design and presentation materials to create. Don Walker, I thank you for that.

We are very excited to be a part of the NAHBS this year. While it was a last minute decision, I hope that we are well received by the industry folks as well as the public. That is one of the really cool things about this show, anyone who wants to purchase a ticket can go to the show. At Interbike, only industry, dealers or media are allowed. After speaking with Chris D, at Chris King yesterday, my hat's off to those guys. They are taking the responsibility of allowing and managing any exhibiting builder to send all of their show materials to them and they will deliver it to the convention center. Then send it back to you from their shop after the show. That is cooler than a fan. CD said the Portland is totally jazzed on the show and people cannot wait. There are going to be some amazing bikes and parts there, so if you are in the Portland area in early February, stop by for some serious bike porn.

I am pleased to announce that Andy from Dirt Rag will be testing one of our custom 29er's. The exact design and details have yet to be determined. This is exciting for me because I have been trying to get them on one of our bikes for nearly a year now. After the DSG race last year, Maurice and I spoke, but they have a ton of people that want their bikes in their magazine. Which is great. I think highly of their publication and the readers it caters to. It will be awesome to get their thoughts and impressions of our bikes.

Ride:
Jason and I kept the Tuesday night ride tradition alive and went out for a 2 hour tour of North Chatt. The weather was crappy and it was misting a mixed precip the entire time. No other riders to been seen that night. We kept the pace mild and just enjoyed the fact that we were on the bike. Going to get out on the mountain bike tonight for a few hours in the dark. Trying to get hyped up for the next installment of Snake Creek Gap. I am hoping to hook up with Jon McL for another long day at the Tanasi on Saturday. Thinking about an early AM ride at Raccoon Mtn on Sunday and then keep it low key all next week, except on Tuesday of course. My plan is to do some road miles next week to keep the legs loose and then light it up next Saturday in Georgia. I look forward to seeing the Yazoo Crew, or at least those who are not attending the Icycle in NC.

It's been a while...

Work:
The work scene has been super busy the last few days. So busy that getting a chance to post any news has been a chore. The show bikes are coming along nicely and all of the parts should be here on Thursday. Looks like I am going to have some bikes to build this weekend. I have to photograph all the show bikes before they are shipped on Monday. A few bikes are not going to be back from paint until Friday...cutting it close, but that is how we roll. The time line sucks but it keeps getting easier all the time. The boss man has spent the past few days in the UK visiting some of our friends across the pond. I am sure he is having a great time. I am jealous of that for sure...but I would want to be riding and not working, so I guess I am better off staying stateside and organizing the Handmade Show. I will hold out until Eurobike.

Ride:
With the workload being at the current level and the weather being very cold, I have felt lethargic and not to interested in the bike. Or at least riding it. I have been feeling like I need to rest and catch up on some recovery time. I managed to get out for a few hours with my financial adviser for a "meeting" at Raccoon Mtn yesterday afternoon. He was in Chattanooga for an earlier meeting and we have been needing to get together anyway. Nothing like professional meetings on the bike. It makes those type of necessities way sweeter. Talking about grown up stuff while still acting like a kid. That is the balance we all need in life.

The best part about hanging with Tracy is that I owe him my gratitude for selling me my first real race bike. So it appears that he has been advising me on many levels for a while now. Several years ago I was getting interested in mountain biking again. I spent some time on the bike back in college, but nothing too serious and mainly used it as transportation around campus and to and from the bars. After school was over, I was hanging around with a bunch of racer types and they insisted that I get a new bike. At that time in life, I was certainly not in the market for anything new, so the guys asked around to see if anyone had anything for sale that they could let go at a bro deal price.

So Tracy stepped up and offered me a 1992 Yeti PROFRO with an XT 7 speed groupo on it. Built by Frank the Welder and made in Durango, the real deal Yeti years. The rest is history my friends. I spent so much time on that bike...long after he spent a ton of time on that bike as well. It fit beautifully and had a killer battleship gray color that I still love today. That bike became my first single speed and I actually raced it in 2005 at the SSWC in PA. It is now my city bike and still gets some love, but nothing like it used to. I have to say that it is the only bike that I actually have an attachment to. I rode my first race on it, won my first race on it, did my first SS race on it. Oh the memories.

I am hoping that our Tuesday night action will continue, but the weather is not looking very promising. It is going to be touch and go today. If we do make it out, it will be a frigid and wet experience, but that is nothing new. I am keeping my eye on the weather to see if there is going to be an opportunity to visit the Cherohala Skyway on Saturday. It seemed to be the magic ride before that last Snake Creep Gap, so I am going to try it again. After 80 miles and 11,000ft of climbing, a 34 mile, 7,000ft day does not seem so bad.

Snowing In Chattaboogie

Check it ya'll, it's snowing here. The first good snow since we moved here last January. I'm sure it will not last long, but it is nice to see. Winter mainly consists of cold temps with sucky cold rain. I was unsure how far that global warming phenomenon had gone. People go nuts around here when it snows, if that is what you call it. Folks rush to the grocery to buy all of the bread and milk they can get their hands on. The last thing I would want if I was snowed in would be a milk sandwich. Southerners are a bit strange like that, but they do hold the door for you at public places. I do like that.


I found this cool photo of my boy Gunnar. He loves to mountain bike...and raise utter hell. From a cold weekend at Mulberry Gap. I love that place. We had so much fun. I think that everyone should stop by and ride that section of the Pinhoti Trail. Plus they make some of the best fried chicken I have had. That may be the best meal you can eat after a long day on the bike. Just my opinion. Desiree had a good weekend there too. Nice photo of her rocking down the singletrack.

Bikes in Shows and Showing Off on Bikes

Work:
With the Handmade show on the horizon, I have been balls to the wall at the shop. I have been ordering parts, deciding on paint schemes, ordering more parts, coordinating with the shop which bikes we want built and to what spec all while doing my normal 30+ daily tasks. There is a saying around here, "If you are bored, you may need medication". This week is proving that statement to be true, yet false. I am not bored by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I still may need medication.

I spent some quality time on the phone with my friend Brandi at I9 this week. I dropped the whole NAHBS thing on him just as rapidly as Mark did to me, but he was totally cool about it. On all of the show bikes and test bikes that leave this office, I try like hell to make sure that they are spec'd with I9's. They look and ride the best and I want everyone else out there to love them too, plus they are a great company. But they usually have a slight back order going on due to their custom wheel building. So to call them up and have a set shipped right out is rare. But not for me...I guess I am one of the lucky ones on the cool kid list. Like my boy Beck puts it, Hell Yes!
Two sets coming to me...one for show the other for go.

I will be scrambling all week long to get the last bit if stuff worked out before my Jan. 28th shipping deadline. On that fateful Monday, I must make sure everything is built, painted, built up, photographed and then boxed and shipped. I definitely need medication. I did manage to get our latest 29er cruiser posted on twentynineinces.com...many thanks to my man Guitar Ted for the love and the post. This is easily my personal favorite...or at least the bike I would most likely want to ride if I rode a geared bike. More on the bike show craziness to come in the following days. The term "train wreck" keeps popping into my mind. Stay tuned.

I had a nice visit with a local police officer today. We are building/donating a R420 to him to ride in the Police Unity Tour in May. I am very pleased and proud to be working on this project. They will ride from here to Virginia, then pick up with a bunch of other officers to complete the ride to Washington, DC. The frame is getting a killer paint job and all of the parts are being donated by various industry folks. Considering all of the crazy stuff I have done in my life, if feels pretty good to help out the guys I have spent so much time running from. When the bike returns from paint, I will post some pictures.

Ride:
This week I have gained some new found focus for training. I was pretty pissed and bummed out by not getting into the worlds and that set me back a few days. But now I am back. I am working on my revised racing schedule and think that not having to worry about Napa is going to be better. My focus is now on wrapping up the Snake series and looking forward to the Cohutta 100. Garth P. has made mention of the Mohican 100 and the timing looks pretty good. So a couple of hungies on the books with the SSUSA mixed in should keep me on my toes for the Spring. A light sprinkling of SERC races will keep me from getting bored until the big ones come.

Tuesday night was bittersweet. Jason is still banged up from last week's crash, but insisted that we still ride to keep the traditional alive. Plus it was Bishop's last night in town, so we went out on the road bikes. Road bikes at night in 25 degree weather is not very fun in my book, but we managed to have a good time anyway. We rode down to do the local North Chatt loop a few times and ran into an "organized" training ride, so we jumped on the tail of the train for giggles. As we made our way towards the middle of the pack, we decided to stir things up. At the first climb of the loop, we attacked. The beauty of roadies is they are so predictable. Of course, everyone counter attacks and we just keep digging in to pull away. We backed off at the top of the big climb and there were several folks who held our wheels, then we attacked again. This went on for 2 more laps until the 3 of us were the only ones still attacking on the last and final climb. I think that we successfully screwed up everyone's training ride. While that was not our entire plan, it was fun. That may be the only way I will ever like road biking. Some people take stuff way to seriously.

So long Bishop, it was nice riding with you one more time before you roll out to Asheville. Look up my boy Jut Rut, I guarantee you will not be sorry, well maybe. I am looking forward to a visit in the next few weeks. Know that Jason and I will be killing it here and with the addition of Jon McL. it is only going to get more balls out. Good luck on the collegiate circuit...that is where all the fast ninjas are. But remember, old guys can ride forever...ninjas cannot.

The more the merrier!

Thanks to Cornfed for finding this sweet photo of your boy in action. Thanks to the photographer and the race promoters for such an awesome day. I am counting the days until I return to Snake Creek Gap.


Work:
The week's end was closure to a few projects that have been lingering in my court for quite some time now. The most important on this list was making contact with a well know cycling media personality and organizing a custom bike build for test and review. Now that I have that ball rolling, I can mix that project into the tempest that is my work load. I will offer more details on that subject as they develop...it's hush hush right now. j/k. In exchange of one monkey for another, Boss Man drops the NAHBS on me late Thursday afternoon. We have less than 1 month to prepare and build what we need for the show. From bikes and parts to graphics and shipping, we all have our hands full or fuller. We rocked out a plan and had our marching orders within an hour...we are going to blow this show up...just a sample of what we have planned.

Ride:
This is Bishop's last weekend in town before he rolls out to WNC. We were hanging out at my pad on Friday night after work trying to decide where to ride. All we could agree on was wanting to go out and rock the trails one more time on an epic ride. Then out of the blue Bishop gets a call from friend and former Krystals team mate Jon McLaughlin. Within a few minutes we had a meeting time and place for a day of mountain biking. The Tanasi it is.

Saturday we rolled out at 7:30am and had an uneventful trip to and through Cleveland, TN which is all you could ask for. We arrived at the Thunder Rock campground to frigid temps and damp air. That is the rough part about being down in the dense Tennessee valleys along the rivers, it is easily 15 to 20 degrees cooler. When you begin climbing and work your way to the top of some of these mountains, it gets warm fast. We took off pretty quick because the thought of climbing to warm up started to sound pretty good. As we found a quick pace up the fire road it became clear that it was going to be a power day on the bike. Which was fine with me since I had a pretty chill week due to the rain.

Throughout the day while zipping up and down some of Tennessee's finest single track, we only ran into a few other riders. Early on in the day we ran into a few guys climbing a section we were descending. And later we ran into a couple of ladies that we riding strong. The last few times I have been out there I have seen some black bear. Jon, Bishop and I talked about bears and each of our experiences seeing them out there. After a while I was hoping to see some bears after we talked about them while climbing up a long section of single track. Never happened. They should be sleeping right now anyway. They will be freaking people out all Spring, Summer and Fall...they need to rest up for that. I would say that we had an amazing day on the trail. That may have been the fastest I have ever ridden those trails. Jon knows that place so well that we had a hard 4 hour day at tempo and only left the single track a few times. It took me a while to get settled in to my pace, but once I was there it felt great. I went all out several times throughout the day just to test the legs. All is working well. I cannot wait to get back out there. Maybe even before the next Snake? More photos of the day are here.

Later that night I went out to dinner with the wife, her co-worker and his wife. Couples dating...what a rush. Actually, Will and Andrea were great to hang out with. A liberal couple from Cali, one a History professor and the other a creative copy-writer, a solid intellectual couple. We had no shortage of conversation and I think we all had a good time. It is always nice to hang with some left coast liberals, there is a major shortage of them down here in the deep South. What is they say about birds of a feather? New friends are good...both on and off the bike.

Rainy Days Chattaboogie Style

Work:
The last few days have been full-on balls out around the shop. We have a new part-time co-conspirator in the office and he has brought a wealth of organizational efforts to the place. A strange system of project tasks and logs and due dates and completion dates...I will be the first to admit that during the past year, I have completely lost my sense of organization. I think that it is still there but I really don't care about using it. I am feeling that the new "system" is going to be great, even I can appreciate change.

A couple of new bikes came back from paint this week. I was really stoked about this one. R420 with House of Kolor Kameleon Flames on Pearl White with brushed stays...I have my eye on one of these. This would certainly grow my appetite for the road miles I need to put in. A fancy road bike with super sweet parts is always a blast. You feel so much better about hauling some serious ass. You know the bike was built for it, so you give it hell. The hardest decision for me would be how to paint it...need something totally unique, but not gross and too pretentious since I am not a roadie by any sense of the imagination. Now taking suggestions...bowling ball Impalas is the first thing that comes to mind, a little love to the ATL.

Ride:
My ride time this week has been quite limited by the multi-day rain festival going on here. Mostly sucky roller time, but we did get to skirt the weather long enough to get out on Tuesday night. Me, Titsworth, Bishop and Jason rolled out a little late because I drove off from work and left my bike at the shop. I realized what I had done after I was nearly home and the traffic heading East is horrible at 5:30pm. So I called my boy Dave Cash and he was on his way out the door, but he went back in the shop, grabbed my bike and met me at the base of Lookout Mtn for the drop. My thanks to you Dave Cash, with a name like that you've got to be money.

We had a killer first half of the ride...skipped Stringer's and went straight to Lookout. Tempo was high all the way to the base. I think that everyone was ready to go and I took forever, so they were making me pay. Following 3 guys with gears through town and down fire roads on a single speed kinda sucks. I have realized the limitations on certain sections of terrain, but you have to find areas to make it up. But to maintain a gear that you can climb well in and for a long time is rarely the same gear you want for motoring down double track and gravel. The geared fellas have the upper hand here. You can only spin so hard before your can is bouncing off the saddle. I will figure this out.

While we participating in the fore mentioned fire road decent, Jason and Bishop were pushing each harder and harder down the trail at full speed. Then Jason hit a leaf covered mini boulder and it sent his wheel to the left and he over corrected and went airborne at 25+. He found himself wrapped around a tree with his bike way off the trail. We helped him out and he insisted on walking down the trail for a little while to shake it off. He wound up with a mild concussion, broke his helmet and is all jacked up today. Hope he heals up well and is ready to ride on Saturday.

We are having a going away ride for Bishop on Saturday at the Tanasi, we think. It will depend on the weather. Bishop is moving up to Black Mountain, NC to race at Warren Wilson College for his last few years of school. He will be missed, but it seems all my killer training partners are moving to Western NC. My only concern is introducing Jut Rut and Bishop. Together, they could form some anti-jamie racing coalition based out of Asheville.

Yazoo Crew goes down to the Snake

The weekend that we have all been looking forward to around the Chattanooga area has finally come and gone. The first installment of the Snake Creek Gap Off-road Time Trial was today and I think we had 11 registered Yazoo riders in the 34 mile SS class today. My thanks go out to the race organizers for dealing with us and allowing our shenanigans and starting all together. It makes it fun for us and we appreciate your patience.

Jason came by and picked me up around 7:15am for the 40 minute drive to Dalton, GA. We arrived in plenty of time to get a full dose of Bruce on the mic before we tried to load up for the caravan to the start. With a super overloaded school bus, we had to drive ourselves to the start which was about 35 minutes away. We arrived at the start and organized our crew and rolled out 13 deep.

I wanted to start strong and see how I felt around the half way point. Simple plan and easy to maintain, remember it's January. This race was my litmus test for the season. I need something to start basing other races off of. Sounds trite, but as long as I know I have climbed something bigger, steeper, longer than the one I am on at the moment, I have additional confidence that I can clean it. It seems to work more times than not, so I am sticking to it. Anyway, I had a pretty good day of racing for January. I was 1o minutes off the amazingly fast Dougie Fresh from the ATL, so I have some work to do this month to see about shaving some additional time off. I know of several places that I could have hit it harder if I was not worried about cramping up. Which happened anyway, about the last mile of single track before the final decent and my legs went haywire. I was pushing on a not so steep section just to do a different motion with the legs. It worked and I avoided the pirate-like fate of the "double peg leg" but just barely. Must drink more water. It was chilly all day so I never felt thirsty even though I pounded three bottles today on the trail.

The Snake was just as I remembered it, steep, rocky and exhausting. The final few miles are the hardest in my and many others opinion. After a long day of climbing, the last section is super technical and almost entirely uphill. A few rollers are tucked in just to give you a false sense of completion then more uphill work must be done. At the very top of the final climb is a water tower that has become my beacon of hope. When you can see the tower, you have a quick decent on a fire road then a bombing downhill on the road that leads you to the finish.

After the race we hung around the lot for an hour or so until the rest of our crew made it in and had a chance to chill. The times were posted and most everyone had a better day than their best time last year, so we are all improving. Going to chill out today and ride the rollers this evening to spin out the leg funk. Looking forward to some more Tuesday and Thursday night rides between now and the next Snake in Feb. Thanks to all of the Yazoo crew for making the trip down to North Georgia and thanks to Jason for the ride there and back.

Finally, I received my too bad so sad email from the SSWC08 folks...looks like I will not be competing in Napa this year. Ever since 2005 it seems the event keeps getting weirder...soon it will be like doctors and lawyers riding Harley's and ruining it for the true hardcore. But Good Luck to all of those who did manage to send a supersonic email at whatever time it was for you at 12AM PST.

Recovery Ride, Petty Theft and a New Year

The last few days have run together and now it's 2008. Wow...I came home from the skyway ride and my wife's best friend from ATL was in town. She has recently returned to civilization from a complete solo thru-hike on the AT. After 6 months of walking and a move to Georgia, she was getting back into cycling and really loving it. An accident on I-75 left her car totaled and her Rocky Mountain crushed between her car and the concrete median. Fortunately everyone was fine and no injuries were sustained. But she had an issue and need a new bike, so that is where I come in. My friend and co-worker Jack had a bike that he wanted to sell and it seemed like it would work for Dana. Jack brought the bike in an I took it home for her to check out. So, on Sunday, Desiree, Dana and I rode.

We had breakfast early, it was rainy and cold outside. Being unsure about the weather outcome, we opted for a city ride through town and out the greenway. The main goal was to get Dana out on the bike and make sure that the size was going to work and that she was happy with the way it rode. We cruised down the hill to the Walnut Street Bridge and rolled up to Bluff View to pick up the greenway. We just had a really casual ride and talked the whole way. It was quite chilly and overcast but the rain was gone.

I got a call from Ivory and he was coming down to ride Raccoon Mountain. After a quick assessment of ETA, the ladies and I busted a move back to the pad in N. Chatt to pick up Gunnar and grab some helmets. We jumped in my ride and headed to Raccoon. We met up at the Power Station and Ivory gave me a New Year's present, which was really nice. A framed photo of the crew at a race. That was awesome, thanks again. We rode around for a couple of hours and it was really nice out. The sun finally came out and the trail was so great.

Everyone had a nice time and it was great to ride with my wife. I always like riding with her...she helps me remember not to take it all too seriously. Gunnar loves to ride as much as he likes to eat and he was trying to lead as always. It was fun to watch him give Ivory a hard time on the trail. At the end of the day, we had all worn ourselves out and Dana loved the bike and took it home. The best line of the day came from her as she was checking out her new ride, "This bike is so bad ass, I think I'm jealous of myself." I believe we have another happy Lynskey owner out there. More photos here.


I worked on Monday and it was a relatively uneventful last day of the year at the shop. We finished some painted frames and shipped a couple of pallets to the UK. I had made dinner reservations on Sunday and everything was all dialed in for New 's Years Eve. All I needed to do was wrap up a few loose ends before the end of the day and cruise home to hang with the wife. At 5:15 I jumped into my car and started it up to the sound of a motor boat...totally freaked out at this point I shut it off. It sounded like I had a hole in my muffler. so I looked under the car to find that someone had climbed under my car and sawed off my catalytic converted and stole it. I still cannot believe that it happened. What the hell? Who steals a car part? Our shop is in one of the crappiest parts of Chattanooga, but come on? Sawing off a catalytic converter...that is crazy. A strange swing for karma that day...but while driving home I laughed a few times while trying to process the theft. I did have some fun in the city revving up the motor and hearing the straight header sound of the engine echoing off the buildings on Frasier...how can you not laugh at that. Someone really need a car part, I suppose. Now I need one too.

Des and I went to a killer little tapas restaurant later that night which really hit the spot. The place reminded us of a spot we visited in Vancouver. We spent much of the evening talking about the various events of the past year and what we hoped to accomplish in the year to come. It was a really nice evening, one I think we both needed. We watched the ball drop in Times Square on the tv. Followed by the Family Guy until 3am, having to register for the SSWC at 3am kinda sucked, but now we wait to see if I am in. 7 to 10 days may not come soon enough. I slept in until 8:30 and chilled around the pad most of the morning. The family and I walked to downtown and stopped for a cup of coffee to warm up before making the trip back up the hill to the house.
Bring on the OCHO!