Tomorrow is the Huatulco World Cup. It’s my second World Cup, but definitely my biggest ITU race as far as size and quality of field. Plus, this course is going to kill people. It’s hot, for one, but more importantly, there’s a gigantic wall that we ride up eight times followed by a not-so-flat run…
…it’s going to be really fun! And afterwards, 2009 is over for me, which means today’s training was the last of this season.
I haven’t taken any pictures yet of Huatulco, but I did photograph my bike. I should add that this is the first time I’ve ever raced on a bike clean enough to put on my bed. The US Team brought a mechanic for us to use, and he’s doing full-on overhauls of our bikes. It’s remarkable. I actually just had a tune-up from Speedy Reedy in Seattle (who does a very good job), so I went to Joe the Mechanic asking only for some Quick-Stop break pads (I forgot my carbon-surface pads at home). Two hours later I walked back in to find my bike had been polished, the headset taken apart and cleaned, the cables changed, the shifting fixed – he actually took off my cassette and washed it in the sink! Seriously, this is the best tune-up anyone has ever given me. Kevin Collington claims he no longer goes to bike shops, he just waits until he’s at a race with Joe, and lets him do an overhaul. One thing is for certain, there will not be any non-essential drag tomorrow from my bike. It’s all on me.
As for my trip – I haven’t had nearly as much practice with speaking Spanish since the all the other English speaking athletes showed up. There are enough fluent-speaking people that when we go to dinner somebody is always taking over the ordering process before I can mutter “quieroâ€.
Have a great race all the way across the finish line!! Keep a cool head and pack ice! Susan’s still pregnant…wants another swim with you while she has the advantage. Love from us all!
Have a great race! Baba has been acting like a cheerleader all day and is holding out for you to visit!