So I figured since I’ve got a little downtime, I’d go ahead & post today’s report early. We’d normally be in team meetings right now, but the massuse from Living Well Dallas is here, and we’re getting some 1-on-1 massage time throughout the afternoon.

Today was another gorgeous day. The wind was nearly non-existent and the temps were in the 60’s. We rolled out to the Robinson Ranch loop again. This time, we worked on a paceline with 30 second rotations. I found them easier than the fast rotation that we were doing yesterday. More importantly, we worked on leadouts again- this time from a bit further away from the “finish line.” This time, we nailed them… I got moved further back in the leadout train on each lap, and felt better as we went. It was a great training day.

As soon as Casey gets finished with her massage, we’re heading to the store to get some extra Diet Coke for the 3 day trip to Oklahoma. I’m looking forward to the change of scenery. I had no idea that drivers could get more hateful than the ones in Memphis, but Dallas has proved me wrong!

First off, the weather was absolutely gorgeous today! It was in the 50’s, and the wind was a liesurely 10 or so mph. We left the hotel and rode out to an area known as the Robinson Ranch Loop to work on how to ride an effective paceline. When we first started, we were all over the road, but by the time we got to lap 3, we actually looked like we knew what we were doing (though we did get yelled at over the radio for letting the pace fall below 25mph going up the looong, windy hill at the end of the loop).

We also tried a leadout on a couple of laps, but bobbled both times (the last time being mostly my fault for starting to leadout too fast and breaking the train apart).

Once we got back to the hotel, we cleaned up & had lunch. Afterward, the nutritionist from Living Well Dallas came to talk to us. She had a lot of helpful advice about how to choose the right food for before/during/after our rides. We finished off the day with a delicious dinner at one of the Metro Volkswagen club member’s house.

I’m pretty tired now. I think that everyone else is watching a movie in one of the other rooms, but I might be anti-social and veg out in front of my own TV in my PJs so I can just pull the covers over my head when I start to nod off…

The weather cleared up & we headed out for some wind/paceline work. However, we got about 45 minutes into the ride when a guy in a suburban passed us, laid on his horn, and started yelling. It was obnoxious, and nothing more would have come of it… until he cut us off and slammed on his brakes, nearly causing a bike-car collision with the riders in the front of the group.

This didn’t sit well with Nathan, who is pretty protective of his riders (especially the younger ones who happened to be up front at the time). On the second or thirdbraking/swerving manuver that the guy made, Nathan rode up next to the car and yelled at the guy to stop. At the same time, he smacked the back window… I think the general idea was to just make some noise, but apparently, suburban rear windows are pretty weak, because it broke into tiny pieces! The guy sped up the road, but then I think he realized that his window was broken, pulled over, got out, and walked to the rear of his vehichle.

At this point, I’d sat up… we’re in Texas… the stereotypical Texan drives a large vehicle and carries equally large guns. My instincts led me to stay out of shotgun range and slightly behind the team car while Nathan and the man “discussed” what just happend. At some point, we rode off, but then after about 10 miles, we turned around and went back to the scene of the incident to talk to the police, who wanted to hear from the endangered riders who’d been up front at the time of the vehicular assult. Eventually hands were shaken and no charges were filed, and everyone went on their way.

Some camera phone images:

So, we didn’t get to the training plan of the day, though I don’t mind much, because I’m not used to the insane winds here. I spent most of the ride looking like I’d never been in a paceline before. It was good practice for me, and hopefully by the end of the week, I’ll take on 40mph gusts like they’re old business.

Normally we’d be out riding right now, but the weather is not cooperating. When we left the hotel to go to meet the Mad Duck Cyclery group ride, it was cloudy, windy, and about 70 degrees. During the course of the 5 minutes from hotel to shop, the temp dropped about 10 degrees, the wind picked up, and it started to sprinkle. We left the shop, and it immediately started to pour. I was sitting on the back of the group cursing both the cold rain that was getting blown into my ears and the somewhat aero wheels that I’ve got on my bike.

I mentally prepared myself for the 3hours of hell that I was facing, but then the group turned back towards the hotel…

Since Nathan didn’t want us to get sick the first day of camp, he’s delayed our ride until after lunch. Woohoo!

After a windy drive from Memphis, I arrived in Grapevine, TX around 4:30. I met up with a few of my teammates & we went to an Italian place near by for dinner. Afterward, it was back to the hotel for the first team meeting.

Nathan, the team manager, cut to the chase and let us know that in the grand scheme of things, our team is not much different from a pro team, and he expected us to act and ride accordingly. Camp is going to be a little bit like “tryouts” for the 2009 season- our performance this week will have a large impact on who goes where next season. Also, during this week, if anyone doesn’t perform as expected, it could mean an early end to his or her contract. He expects a lot from us, and I think it’s pretty awesome, because it’s going to insure that noone is there who shouldn’t be.

After the meeting, Some of us hung around in the conference room to work on our bikes- I had to swap out my worn rear tire for a new/old stock of Ryan’s, and others were assembling their bikes out of the flight cases. We discussed how the earlier lecture reminded us of some sort of reality TV show where people get eliminated after a series of challenges (hence the title of this post). Then Coryn got excited and rode ashley’s bike around the conference room…