Muskoka 70.3 - 29 August 2021

 

Me: "Hey Marius, I have a Half Ironman in 3 weeks, how should I ramp up my training?"

Marius:  "You shouldn't" 

IRONMAN Muskoka 70.3 announced 5 weeks out that they had the go ahead to host a race. It wasn't really on my radar but a bit of peer pressure from some local die-hards got me to sign up. Its ironic that I signed up 3 weeks before the event but was actually in better shape than most races I've signed up months and years before. 

TRAINING

My run form was decent as I'd been doing some long runs every weekend with my run chums. My cycling was comprised of all day gravel rides and 30 minute Zwift puke fest races. Swimming - none. 

RACE DAY

Derek drove up with me for moral support. As we were approaching Huntsville it started pouring. Derek was making jokes but I started losing my sense of humor. Rain never used to bother me, but after Ireland I can barely take a shower without having a panic attack. 

THE RACE

The skies cleared for the start.

THE SWIM was fairly uneventful, had one guy try pull me under with him but other than that it was pretty straight forward. My brand new goggles filled up on the left eye so I just followed everyone else around Fairy Lake. Took a tiny detour towards the end but nothing too bad. 00:35:07. Happy with that. (Between you and me, swim training is highly overrated) 

At the start with Erin, Darren, Megan and Marie. Ruth is there somewhere too.

THE BIKE was a little more eventful. I felt surprisingly good through the first few rollers then got a steady pace going on the flatter sections. It wasn't a flat course (roughly 4200 feet of gain) but it felt fast. It started raining a little bit, then it started raining a lot. Luckily I caught the downpour on the way back and only really struggled on one downhill where I couldn't look up at all. I just had to look at the ground and hope I didn't hit anything. It lasted for a fair while, but surprisingly I enjoyed it.

@followmenorth took some great photos in the rain. 

I wasn't watching my time but I knew I was pushing it a little. 2:46:20 for 90k. I'm very happy with that. 

THE RUN was a catastrophe! I took a gamble on the bike that I'd have the legs to run a 1:40 half marathon after. I knew the run would be hilly but I completely underestimated it.  It was like a sick joke. 1180 feet of gain on the lumpiest stretch of asphalt I'd ever run on. I'm not even sure I'd have been able to run 1:50 without the swim and bike warm up . I managed an okay pace for the first 13/14km then I fell apart in a big way. My dream of 5:15 faded, then 5:20, but sub 5:30 was still very possible. at 19k my quads just had nothing left. I looked like a pedestrian pretending to run when a car is waiting for them to cross a road. It looks like a run, but its not even a fast walk. 300m from the line my quads completely cramped and I seized up. 

I had to use a spectator to prop myself back up. My Garmin says I was standing there for 4 mins - felt like 20. I gingerly got moving again and walked it in. 2:10 for the 21k. Not great but it could have been worse too. 

At the line, local athletes Blair, Doug and Dany kept me from collapsing and gave me a cup of what tasted like sea water to replenish myself. Thanks chaps. 

Wrecked

5 Hours 39 minutes and 12 seconds. Not my best but far from my worst. Even with my abysmal run I'm still happy with my race. Friends and fellow runners/cyclists Julien, Rahel, Holly and Christina came to support and cheer which was really special.  Their support , along with the support of the volunteers and spectators made for an epic day and a great return to racing. 

Thanks for reading. 

IRONMAN Louisville 2019

After Cork I was pretty happy to call an end to the triathlon season (or triathlon full stop). I said that I wasn't going to do any tris this year and ended up doing 4. What can I say, I love races. I also keep injuring myself, so triathlon is a great sport because you can usually train one of the three sports if you've broken a toe, or sliced your leg open, or bruised your patella, or have saddle sores, or you drop a fire extinguisher on your foot. You know, normal stupid stuff.

As with so many of the IMs I've done, Jeff was the driving force behind getting me to sign up. Usually I get a little more heads up, but Jeff decided a month is enough time to go from zero to Ironman hero. (It was not)

Training

Besides for the usual  group runs I'd done little else. No swimming, and very little cycling. The plan was to put in 3 weeks of interval training with one week easing into the race. On my first interval ride I fell off my bike and sliced my leg across my achilles. Missed the tendon, but I was out of cycling for a week, no running for 2 weeks and no swimming for 3. I tried to lose some weight , but being injured and not eating is next to impossible.

So plan B, try not to get too fat before race day.

Louisville

I did the race in 2016, with Jeff and Jamie, and enjoyed it. I like the city and the weather is usually pretty mild. The people are friendly, the food is good and the beers are decent. 

In attendance from Cayman

Jeff - besides for being kinda bike fit was in the same shape as me - round
Patrick Harfield - looking lean and mean and aiming for a spot at Kona
Gavin - in decent shape and just another sucker for punishment
Jamie - just there for the reunion.

The lead up

As is customary we went out for some beers Friday night , maybe a few more than we needed but fun times.

My first meal with a bourbon milkshake. It was very good


Race day

Due to some green algae growing in the river the swim was cancelled. On the one hand it was a shame, as the Louisville swim is a fast one and the only respectable part of my day. I usually finish in the top 20% in the swim then spend the rest of the day getting passed by a few thousand people. On the other hand, it was 4 Celsius on race morning so I didn't mind not freezing to death on the bike (and it was nice not being passed by everyone on the bike)

The water was not appealing

The bike

We had a rolling time trial start. 2 at a time every 3 seconds. It creates a very strange race, with people of various abilities starting at random times. Usually the swim sets the order of the day and there's a little bit of shuffling but it's not drastic. This rolling start was by number so you had some super slow riders leaving with elite riders. I was number 1462, and actually passed more people than I got passed so that was refreshing, but there was a lot of shuffling all day, and a lot of crap cyclists to pass. And when I say crap I don't mean slow, just goons riding in the passing lane , moving way left to take a left turn, unclipping to make u-turns - the usual bonehead stuff. I sometimes think that some triathletes's first time on a bicycle is on a $5000 TT bike. (says the guy who fell of his bike in the driveway)

I felt surprisingly good on the bike. But there are no surprises in IM and at about 140k I started to feel it. I was feeling okay as Jeff (#2032) passed me, then at around 150k I fell apart. Right leg started to cramp, the orange Gatorade I'd been guzzling tried to make its way back up and a fierce headwind appeared to "take the wind out of my sails". That last 30km felt like 300.

180k done in 6:50. I expected 7 hrs, but after doing the first 90 just over 3hrs I got optimistic. "Slow your roll cowboy", said my legs.

Contemplating my life choices waiting to depart. It was very cold, but Canada has prepared me

The Run

My feet were on fire from the bike with hot spots boiling the balls of my feet. My legs felt like a combination of lead and jello, but after about a km of shuffling along they started to feel pretty good. Sore but good . The first 10k whizzed by in an hour, the next 32 not so much. I started coughing and then getting the most severe heartburn (I've never had heartburn ) . The cycle of coughing and burning was vicious indeed.

It wasn't a very impressive run performance, more of a mental battle; trying to keep running when everything hurts. And trying not to puke. On the plus side I didn't cramp. Quads were like rocks but never seized up. It was a pretty lonely run, 2000 + people on course and I ran it mostly solo. Its like when you're on a busy highway and you get a patch where there are no cars for 100m each way. I did spend some time running with one lady who's battled all kinds of cancer. Chatting to her put things well into perspective. 

5:12 for the 42k. Slow AF but could have been worse.

Post race

Patrick smashed the course , coming in second in his Age Group and securing a spot at Kona. Jeff came in about 30 mins ahead of me ,our closest race yet: :)  Gavin had a solid performance finishing somewhere in the middle of the fast and the slow guys .

Patrick 2nd from the left

We had a quick couple of beers back at the hotel then I packed up my bike for a 7am depart the next morning. Thanks Jeff for organizing, Jamie for picking up my bike from transition and congrats Patrick on qualifying. Fun times gents.

IM number 8 done and dusted. I usually end by saying I'm never doing another one, but Ive already signed up for Penticton next year. Plus, Jeff's talking about legacy slots for Kona*. 🙈

I need new friends,
Thanks for reading



*if you do 12 Ironmans you can get in the lottery to go to the world championships. 

IRONMAN IRELAND - CORK

Two disclaimers before I write this report. 

Number 1, I wasn't in the shape I needed to be in. It wasn't unfit, I just wasn't conditioned for the toll an IM takes on your body. With IM you're either all in, or you're out - there is no inbetween. 

Number 2, I will try my best not to dramatize the conditions.  I'm not trying to gain extra credit or sympathy by making the race sound harder than it was (there's no such thing as an easy Ironman) but this was brutal - mentally as much as physically. 

Okay, lets start at the beginning. 

The Cast:

Patrick (used to live in Cayman, moved back to Ireland, his 2nd IM)

Jeff (lives in Cayman, Ive done Eagleman, Boulder, Texas and Louisville with. His 11th?12th IM)

Bill ( lives in Cayman, did Victoria 70.3 with me this year and Whistler 2016 IM #3)

Mikey (lives in Cayman, didn't enter the race, just along for the craic, did Whistler 2016)

Me (IM #7, Ireland bucket list destination for me)

In a group chat long long ago, Patrick joked about us doing Ireland. Bill's response to the joke was a screenshot of his entry for the race. Jeff said he'd organise us accomodations and just like that Id signed my life away.  Mikey and Shane sat on the fence long enough for the race to sell out. Shane was gutted, and Mikey was relieved. Mike somehow got a pass to come watch us suffer. 

I tried to get my cousin Sean to do the race, but he said Ireland's to cold and he signed up for Florida. After last weekend's race I'd have to admit that he's smarter than I thought.

Pre-Race 

Flew into Dublin, drove to Castlematyr, a small town outside of Youghal in Cork County. The place we were staying was on the grounds of an old castle.

Me, Mike and Bill taking in the sights

The weather leading up to the race was good, a little cold and rainy at times but otherwise okay. The forecast for race day was not looking good, but we were assured that its Ireland and the forecast can change. It didn't :(

The day before and after the race had perfect weather. 

The night before the race the winds had picked up and we were notified that the swim would be shortened due to the air and water temps and the wind roughing up the sea. 

Race morning

At 4am things were not looking good outside, cold and windy and you could feel the rain coming. As we were leaving I ran back inside to grab a jacket, not knowing that it would be the difference between finishing and not even starting. 

We got into transition at 5:00, checked our bikes and waited for the call on the swim. At 6:30 they called the swim off. By this stage it was raining and the wind was gusting, life guards couldn't navigate the water and there were big safety concerns. I was disappointed but this was 100% the right call, maybe not for the stronger swimmers, but the 2 hr guys would have been in real danger. 

The next call was for us to stand by our bikes and wait to be called into the tent to change, then line up for a TT start. The pros set off at 7:20am. I was about halfway up the queue, and finally got on my bike at 8:15 after standing in the cold rain for 3 hours. I had 3 layers on, thick winter socks, two pairs of gloves and I was shivering. Some people had only their tri suits on. I'd never seen people have to go to the medical tent before a race has even started. It was around 10 degrees, with a feels like of 7, which is irrelevant when you're wet and in the wind.

Waiting to be called into transition

Roughly 300 people pulled the plug on the race before it even started , Jeff being one of them. He came up to me and said "I'm out". I didn't even try to convince him to try. In Texas I saw the effects the cold had on him, and he still has some PTSD from those porta potties he used when we were pulled off the course. 

Patrick was off a little ahead of me, and Bill some ways behind me. 

I had a lot of clothing on, but none of it was water proof and at about 40 km in I was completely soaked through. Had they not cancelled the swim I doubt I would have been able to warm up enough to finish the bike. Thankfully my outdoor winter training in Canada had me somewhat conditioned for the cold.

Check these crowds. Just unbelievable 

The rain was CONSTANT, big downpours with light rain in between. It reminded me of that scene in Forrest Gump when he was in Vietnam. The roads weren't great on a good day, but the wetness made them terrible. Not knowing if the puddle ahead was a pothole or not was pretty stressful. Add in the wind and the cold, the long climbs and terrifying descents and it made for an incredibly challenging bike ride. Oh, and I couldn't see a thing. My sunglasses were a mess and without them my eyeballs took a beating so yeah. It was like driving a car without wiper blades then having to decide if you want a windshield or not. Patrick, who regularly trains in this wasnt phased, and his £200 gortex jacket kept him toasty and dry. But the cycling gods saw how happy he was and at 150km into the bike he got 3 punctures. Game over! ( they also gifted him a dose of bronchitis after the race)

More than anything this bugged me the most

There was a lot of talk and scare mongering about Windmill hill, a 21% grade 400m climb we'd hit twice on the bike leg at 85km and 175km. It's hard to take triathletes seriously,  they are forever fretting over water temps/the heat/the cold/the wind/the road conditions....you name it and they'll worry about it. We walked to check it out after registration and my jaw dropped - it's a beast. "I'll definitely be walking that",  I said. On my first lap, coming into Windmill Hill around a blind right hand corner, I'd unclipped my one pedal preparing to dismount. Taking the turn I was met by a crowd that would rival any tour de france finish line crowd. It was INTENSE. Walking was not an option so I "re-clipped" and muscled my way up, avoiding two crashing cyclists along the way. I was completely gassed at the top and it took a while for me to get my breath and legs back. Definitely walking the next time. 100% .  Lap one done and I was starting to feel stressed. Id barely managed to stay on my bike the first lap, and my brakes were beginning to fail. Jeff had made a wise choice.  Halfway through the second lap and I could smell my brakes burning up and could hear the peeled off pads scraping on my back wheel. By the end I had a death grip on the levers, cables fully stretched and creaking under the strain. I needed to be off this bike and soon. The bike course took us through some beautiful countryside, but it was invisible through the clouds and my foggy glasses.


Round 2 of Windmill Hill was only 5km from the finish. By this stage I knew my day was a write off and if I could do it one more time I'd have something to be proud of. By this stage (almost 8 hrs in) all the good cyclists were done and the rest had either given up or were suffering from the ass whooping received on course. The result was me being the only cyclist pedaling up, and this intensified the support. I knew I'd pay for this later, but it was worth it. There is a video of a pro walking his bike up, not because he wasn't strong enough to pedal, he was just smart enough not to.

Windmill Hill, pics don't do it justice. Not sure who took these 2 pics, lifted them off facebook

I finished the bike after 8 hours and 2 minutes - making cut off by 18 minutes. A tire change or a bathroom break and I'd have been very close to not making it. Bill came in at 8:09. 8hrs is usually what it takes me to do the swim and the bike combined with time to spare. My flight across the Atlantic wasn't even 8 hrs. You'd think that they'd have some forgiveness due to the events of the day, but they were not letting people access there run bags after 8:20. Heartbreak for many. 

Racked my bike then headed to transition. Once I'd stopped moving I started to shiver. I took both my bags and put on all the dry clothes I had. A vest, a shirt and a long sleeve shirt but I was still cold. I then went to Jeff's bags and grabbed a light shell out of his bike bag. Warm at last, Thanks Jeff!

I headed out on the run and was actually feeling pretty good. All the suffering on the bike had been mental I figured. Legs felt okay and energy was up. First 10k breezed by in an hour, then things got hard.(Maybe not just mental). The lack of long runs and bikes and bricks started to take its toll and my legs got achy. By 20k I couldn't fathom doing what I'd just done again (+2km). My run got gradually slower and slower till I started walking the hills up. Then walking them down. My heroics on Windmill Hill playing a small part in my demise. 

The crowd support was continuous, except for this tough stretch along the beach, where it was so bad even the most hardcore of supports dare not venture.That's me in the yellow

In some sections the support was overwhelming, and I managed to push a better pace, again showing that my mind had bailed on me long before my body did. 

Eventually I got over the line, 1h20  before cut off, the closest I've ever come to the cut. Despite all my complaining I was pretty stoked to finish.

I only found out near the end of my run that Patrick didn't finish. Here he is with Jeff getting some run in near the end of mine.

I'd seen Bill a few times on the turns, and suspected he'd be outside the cut off. Patrick, Jeff and Mike saw him and told him that his current pace would result in not finishing. He dug deep and came across the line with some minutes to spare and was one of the last athletes over the line. For his efforts Mike Reilly (now famous for his IM announcing) came down onto the finish straight to congratulate him.

His finish line jig got him onto the official highlight video

One thing that's brutal about these races is the finish line pack up. The second that time runs out they dismantle the finish and if you're 200m away it's gone by the time you get there. Roughly a third of the race entrants didn't finish, with many ending in the medical tent with hypothermia or injuries from crashing their bikes.

Besides for all my whinging I had a great time, I'd definitely travel back to Ireland, but I doubt I'll ever put myself through that again. The hospitality and support of the Irish and Cork County was unbelievable, you'd swear every visitor was a famous celebrity. Some sat in the rain ALL DAY cheering. Some knew my name before they could even see my bib. Every cheer was sincere and you knew they meant it. The athlete store sold out of everything that said Ironman Cork on it, mainly because of the locals buying gear for themselves. I've never seen anything like it. 

Thanks Jeff for sorting us out and for braving the crazy Irish country roads( by car at least), Paddy for your organizing, getting cars out of the mud and letting me fall asleep in your living room every day after the race ( Thanks Suzanne too). Thanks Mikey for snapping the pics, even though my camera has no "auto-zoom" and Bill McFarland for just being a legend. 

We spent the days after the race drinking beer in Dublin.

On Wednesday I made my way to Patrick's and did a long hike, 2 short runs, a lot of eating and also a lot of sleeping.

On the finish line I vowed , NEVER AGAIN, but sitting here 10 days later recovering from a bad cold, I don't remember it being that bad.

Thanks for reading

D

Race Report Victoria 70.3

Summary for those who have better things to do: Perfect lake swim conditions. Tough bike course, up and down all the time but cool with a light breeze which picked up towards the end. Run was on a gravel/forest trail, shaded and cool and very scenic, two laps of the lake we swam in. Swim 0:33, Bike 3:19 (I know right), Run 1:50 overall 5:51 chip time. Considering my fitness level I'm happy with the result. 

Alright...I tried to sneak this race in under the radar but word got out so I guess I'm obligated to do a report. 

My old friend ,Bill McFarland from Cayman, signed up for the race and Rebecca told me Scott was flying over to watch his son Nathan compete. Flights were going pretty cheap so I thought it would be a good little warm up for IM Cork that I'm doing in 3 weeks time with Bill and some other friends from Cayman. Plus Victoria is on my list of places to see and it's always good to see old friends (yes, I said old twice)

Thursday: The plane was packed with bug eyed,  malnourished triathletes heading in the same direction. I sat next to a nice couple also doing the race. After landing in Victoria I went over to Bills, assembled my bike on the street and hit the road for one of the best bike rides I've ever been on. Victoria is cycling heaven, and if you like hills and trees, well, this is the place for you. Bill is in supreme cycling shape so he put me through the wringer.

Friday was a day for sightseeing and I did some hiking and snapped some pics. Registered and took a dip in the lake then caught up with Scott, Nathan and Jamie. In the evening Bill and I got stuck into some fine Jamaican rum he had in his cupboard before heading out to a local brewery. Let's just say I felt a little rough the next day. 

Saturday: cycled to bike check-in with Bill and Nathan, on the way hitting the steepest climb I've ever been up. Hangover cured. 

Headed home with Bill and Jody, time for a nap and some chill time, well, that was the plan but I'm a bonehead. I get to my car at Bills and my keys are nowhere to be found. After some frantic searching it dawn's on me, my keys are in my bike top tube bag, in transition, 20k away and it's hell for traffic at the venue. Jody very, very kindly braved hell for the second time to help me retrieve my keys. So dumb. 

Sunday. The race kicked off at 6am, with transition opening at 4am. It sucked to have to wake up at 3am but it was also nice to finish before noon. 

Scott looking for Nathan, he didnt see him.

Swim: 

I passed the camera over to Scott who snapped some great pics

The water was the perfect temp, around 72, not too hot, not too cold. It was fairly uneventful due to the self seeding and the staggered entry of 3 at a time. I only had one clown bashing into me. I got fed up and swam him off the course before getting back on the toes that I'd been following the whole way. If you had an orange wetsuit and really big feet and are reading this : thank you 

33:26 . I'll take it. 

Bike:

Nathan hammering the bike leg

Definitely the best bike course I've ever been on. Just amazing. If it wasn't so scenic I'd definitely be complaining about how hard it is. Over 3000 ft of climbing and the bulk of it was in the second half. My knee was aching so popped a pain killer. I got passed A LOT!!! Oh, and I don't usually included boring details about watts, nutrition and peeing, but get this. I peed 3 times on the swim and 4 times on the bike, unreal. A cool breeze would hit me and I'd be busting. I could have shaved 10 mins on bathroom breaks alone. But it was also good to stretch the knee out so no excuses. (Avg power 170w, NP 192w, ate and drank race provided Gus and BASE sports drink)

Looking at the left right balance, my left was taking up some of the work, which I felt the effects of on the run.

3:20, not great but looking at the numbers I put in a bigger effort than I originally thought I could sustain.

Having said that looking at my placing, 354th on the Swim, 1011th on the Bike and 362nd on the run - my biking needs A LOT of work.

Run:

Popped another painkiller in transition and headed out on the run.  The run was the best run course I've ever done too, although it was hard to get a rhythm and pace. It also felt like the kms ticked by slowly, somehow time slows in the trails. 

 1: 50 for the run. Again, not amazing but I'm actually pretty happy with it. My knee pain faded and after about 15 mins I felt okay.  And I passed a lot of people, the most notable being Bill, who managed to stay ahead of me the whole race till 3k on the run.  There was a fair amount of smack talk over beers Friday night. I gave him a 15 minute handicap and still managed to beat his sorry old ass by a long way. Lol, suck it McFarland. 

Nathan smashed it coming in at 5:23, the kid's a beast. 

I don't often repeat races but I'd definitely do this one again. Victoria is a great city, the people are polite and friendly, cyclists are everywhere and the infrastructure makes cycling a lot safer. The race was amazing and I couldn't fault it if I tried. 

Thanks for reading. 

Muskoka 70.3 July 8, 2018

At 199 lbs and lacking internal motivation I signed up for Muskoka 70.3 to keep me focused and under 200lbs.  Spoiler alert- I'm still fat .

My bike training was a little bit pathetic and my swim is almost non existent, but the running's been going well (thanks to Derek and Steph bustin my ass on the Sunday runs)

I have plenty of excuses for not training properly, but no legitimate ones so let's move on.

The race was in Huntsville, a small holiday town that bursts at the seams every summer. We were lucky enough to stay with friends of Jen who live a short drive from the start, (option B was sleeping in my car).

Or shacking up with these happenin' dudes:

No thanks .

Pics: too bad Ironman doesn't give refunds. I could have happily chilled by the river with these guys all weekend 

Friends and training buddies Derek and Scott were also racing (first time half iron for both)as well as Riaz (a veteran) who'd done the Miami tri with us a while back.

Race day.

SWIM
I cut it pretty fine leaving the house and got to the water with 5 mins to spare. The swim start was pretty brutal as I got stuck behind some big slow dudes and got pounded. Other than that the swim was great, perfect conditions and even after taking a bit of a detour I still ended up with an okay time. 35mins

(Not my)Pic: Fairy Lake 

BIKE
I tried to take it really easy on the bike, but after 30k I already felt like crap and was getting passed like I was parked. So I went against my instinct and decided to go even slower just to make sure I had something for the run. Personal Worst : 3h11m ( Side note: you know you've hit rock bottom when someone whose saddle is 10 inches too low passes you.)

Pic: Pro tip, park your bike near expensive looking bikes because they'll most likely be gone by the time you get to transition.

No good pic of me on the bike because I always seem to be at 3 o'clock in my pedal stroke and I look like a hampster on a cookie .

RUN
For once I had a good run, and it was nice catching the majority of the people who passed me on the bike. (I lapped low saddle guy. Seriously his knees were pointing east and west although his pics probably look amazing!) Riaz came out of transition at exactly the same time as me but, being a sensible guy,  decided that he would like to be able to walk on Monday morning, so he paced himself.  I on the other hand started out WAY too hard and the wheels nearly came off around the 16k mark, but I managed to get over the line before my lack of preparation could really punish me. PB 1h43. 

As i was cruising in to the finish line Scott's wife, Rebecca, shouted out that some glory boy was chasing me, and I had to have a Sprint finish with this guy - uphill 🙄 I did a mini sprint to discourage him, but he didn't relent so it was a battle all the way (Honestly, who sprints for 379th place?!?!?)

(I guess I do) 379 / 1544.  Total time and an unexpected PB of 5:35:14

Pic: I added the pics last and looked up the guy racing me. He's not even in my age group and beat my by 5 minutes on the chip time . Clown. 

Rebecca was tracking Scott and Derek and saw Derek was close to the 6 hour mark with about a minute to go. I ran down the road to tell him to move his ass. I nearly passed out from the effort. He came in bang on 6hrs. Riaz came in at 5:50 and Scott at 6:16. Solid performances .

Pic: Scott, Derek and me looking super fresh. Fun times.  

I washed my bike tonight and will definitely ride it before next year's race. Maybe.