Minnesota

Minnesota is treating me well so far. I got into town in time to unload my stuff before heading to the meeting for the Nature Valley Pro Ride. We met at the host bike shop, Penn Velo, and I gotta say these guys have been awesome. They built and cleaned everyone’s bikes who flew in and then offered to do any work that people needed. We had a brief meeting and introduction, got dished our Nature Valley kit and then I headed out with James, the qualifier from Seattle, to go pre-ride the TT course.

The other guys are rock solid. Chris Winn is from Australia, but he lives in Denver and I’ve been riding and training with him a bit over the last month. He’s a great guy, and the only thing better than his accent is his riding. It sure was nice to show up and have a familiar face here. Well, make that two familiar faces. He also brought his girlfriend Kat, a solid racer in her own right and primo roadtripper/soigneur, and his brother Cam, fresh off the plane from Down Under. Cam also knows his way around the bike, and will surely be of tremendous help, except during the hours between 10pm and 3am when he’ll more likely be a liability. Gotta love that Aussie spirit. 

I don’t know the other guys too well yet, but they are Adam, Keck, Patrick, and James. They hail from all over the country and they strike me as really nice guys who know how to race their bikes. It should be a good week of racing!

I’m beginning to think that the rumors about Midwestern kindness and hospitality may be more than rumors after all. Matt, who is running the Nature Valley Pro Ride, has been incredibly nice and accommodating, and Josh, who’s putting me (and pretty much everyone else up at his place) is just about the coolest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s opened his house to a bunch of smelly bike racers and not only does he put up with us, but he has me half convinced he’s actually enjoying it. I’ll run down the checklist MasterCard style and you tell me if this doesn’t sound like the best darn host housing in the world: Clean spacious accommodations: zero dollars. Big garage with all the bike tools you could need + host who happens to be experienced mechanic: zero dollars. Two awesome dogs (named Jake and Elwood!) and their infinite love and floor cleaning ability: zero dollars. Huge pancake breakfasts with bacon and other Midwest wonders: zero dollars. A host who’s as excited about bikes and racing as you are, can keep you laughing until it hurts, turns on the Beastie Boys first thing in the car, and who is so nice he would probably loan me a lung if there was some way to do that: Priceless.

All in all, I think its gonna be a great week. More on the actual racing as that unfolds.