you never know where you’ll be sleeping
Simple Schedule:
1) Pack my bike and myself for a 5 day road trip and 4h race. We’re headed to the tropics, so 2prs shorts, swimsuit, race suit, bike shorts, done.
2) Get to airport – then follow directions.
Despite my best procrastination step 1) went off without a hitch… traffic was smooth so Sean and I found ourselves 2h early for our Orlando – Miami – Puerto Rico – St Croix Flight. Snack. It’s the first occasion since January that I’ve been rested enough, and had enough time to read. So I read….Our flight was delayed leaving for Miami, and even though we were on the same plane we needed to de-plane, and
re-plane in 45 minutes. Before we left the gateway we were informed that the plane was ‘deemed unfit to fly’ so we would have to de-plane and re-plane elsewhere. Um. I was just floating through the air in that unfit piece of tin (my seat pocket was ripped.. must have been the issue).
90 minutes more behind schedule we’re re-planing again. Not a chance of making our connector to St Croix now.
Arrive in San Jaun, Puerto Rico, and get a comp for the airport casino hotel. At this time of night the only place our dinner vouchers work is across the street
, so we walk through the parking lot and into the restaurant. Apparently through the kitchen entrance… security was called. And a translator.
- We made it to St Croix. I’ve dreamed of racing here since I was 12.
- Rode the beast 39×26 had me at 40 rpm on 300 watts.
- Dinner w/ Starkey, Bi-Plane Bob, French-Kiss Pete & some others.
- Pete had a lobster in a portable pool which he donated with some vague cooking instructions.
- Lobster was named ‘Fishy’
- Poor fishy put up a good fight
The swim starts at the island and goes 1.2 miles around to the left
and I almost ended up in the pot.
- 30 % of the race course was repaved in the last week
- After previewing the rest of the bike and swim I got a phone message asking if ‘we wanted to go on an airplane trip of the island’.
- Bi-Plane was our guide for the day, even though he doesn’t have a bi-plane anymore.
- It was spectacular
- Attended Jump-Up carnival with the Coombs
The Beast from the air: 600ft in 0.7mi
Sisters & ran into our C-3 gang: Steve, Gary & Kim
- Sean and I ordered the same dinner entree
- I don’t want to leave
- The race is very well run, but has a touch of ‘Island’. Rules are enforced when necessary, not when they’re silly.
- eg. if you want to run with out a shirt on and ‘burn the skin off your bones’ go ahead.
- It should be a good one.
- Thanks to Starkey for putting us up (if you like the view in the thumb nail the house will be fore sale/ rent in a month) Also huge thanks
preparing to 'fly by' French-Kiss-Pete's boat
to Dave for the massage, and being our riding buddy/ tour guide over the past few days. Bi-Plane Bob. We’re still grinning.
- Ocean swimming is really nice except when you think about the larger than human critters sharing the water with you.
- The island is over run with really cool crumbling ruins.
- land is cheap (for the Caribbean)
- follow up reading
- OK I’m off to sleep
