Journey, not destination.

TDF-Stage 3!

2009-07-06T15:04:00.002-04:00

GO LANCE GO!
Lance moved up from 10th place to 3rd place today in the TDF! Who is the Astana team leader now by 19 seconds?

Should be an interesting TTT (Team Time Trial) tomorrow! Will Lance be back in YELLOW?

Weekend recap

2009-07-06T14:49:00.003-04:00

It was a good weekend. We stayed in town on Friday night as both of us were tired and hit the Wild Sage for supper with a couple friends. It was good food. We also ran into some other friends and at a going away party for another friend who is moving to Virginia! Good Luck to you Dellie!Avera is loosing one heck of a nurse, enough though your cure for everything is a enema! Then over to Monks for a night cap. Ran into Mr & Mrs Bite there.

Saturday we headed to Bridge City for the fourth celebrations. We ran a few errands and then headed to MacGilly's (sp?) for supper out at the Marina with Rose. It was ok food. Then back to the clubhouse before hitting the fireworks at Riverside Park in Yankton. I would be scared to guess the amount of people sitting along the banks of the Missouri but it was a LOT! They shot the fireworks off the top of the Meridian Bridge this year. To be honest I thought there have been better shows. Don't get me wrong, it was still good but there have been better ones. I think I like them shooting the fireworks off in the Nebraska side of the river better, as you get a straight on view and there is more reflections in the water. I will have to upload pics later this week!

Sunday we did some picking-up at the clubhouse and grocery shopping for the next few days. I will be in Yankton this week as I have cousins and my sister coming up to stay for a few days.
Should be fun.

Hope everyone had a great 4th and an even better week. See you at FABRAD on Saturday!

Ooops almost forgot. Mac and Gilly added to their family on Friday. Jada and Josie two kitties! We had fun playing with them on Friday! They are sure cute!

TDF - who is your GC pick?

2009-07-02T14:48:00.003-04:00

I can hardly wait for the TDF (Tour De France) to start! YUP, I admit it, I am a TDF junkie! I just love the dynamics of the race. The strategies that go into it. It is a team sport and some people loose site of that. Without a strong team it is hard to elevate your GC (general classification =overall winner) contender to the top of the proverbial cream of the crop!

So, who will reign supreme? Sastre, Menchov, Contador, Armstrong, the Schleck boys, Evans, Leipheimer or some complete dark horse?

If you want to have some fun Versus has a fantasy cycling team you can create for the TDF.
I need to get my team set yet!

Elvis sighting?

2009-07-02T14:18:00.002-04:00

I am pleased to announce this is my 9th day in a row commuting to work! WooHoo! I know there are people out there that have a lot more continuous commuting days but this is pretty good for me. So, I was enjoying my nice leisurely commute this morning. Didn't feel like speeding to work, just taking it all in, you know what ma nature has to offer and all.

I pull up to the corner of Russell and Prairie and another bike commuter pulls up next to me. We acknowledge each other and of course talk about the weather the past two weeks for being so conducive for commuting. This fellow cyclist had been on vacation last week but said the weather this week has been great! The light changed and we were off to work our day away.

Ooop...forgot about the title of this blog. No there wasn't anyone with a white jumpsuit and a cape out there gyrating his hips around with ladies screaming, crying and pining for his scarf. It was the fellow cyclist sunglasses, which were kind of Elvisesque(sp?)....cool dude!

RANT.......

2009-07-01T17:03:00.002-04:00

Why is it when a celebrity dies, there are always people that cry and carry on when they didn't even know the individual?

Then the celebs life, before death, then after death as to who gets what is plastered every where you look! UGH....

Do people REALLY CARE that much or am I the odd person out here?

If people were that interested in their own family and circle of friends as they are with some celebs lives, imagine what this world would be like!

Bike-a-palooza and Police!

2009-06-28T21:57:00.004-04:00

Bike-A-Palooza, was an absolute blast on Saturday!

First off the mid-afternoon events were all for the kids. They did really well. There was a parade with a police escort, then slalom races and giving 20 kids a new bike. Pretty darn cool!

Then it was on to the adult events. Clunker Crit, Foot down, bike throw, skid mark and wheelie competition and then bike jousting. I am pretty sure the contestants and the audience loved all the events. I participated in one event, the bike throw. The old clunker bike had been filled with concrete and weighed in at 47 pounds. I gave it my best disc throw and won the ladies round. Pretty darn funny. My prize...a FREE tap beer! It really was a LOT of fun!

(picture taken by Biking Brady)

Let me just say that, Jerry (monks owner), the kErnEl, and Snakebite did a great job putting on this event. I can't wait until next year!

The not so fun part of the weekend!
So, we get home and hit the sack. About 3:30am Sunday, Abe started barking. There was a noise in the house that was odd. Sounded almost like a door shutting. Got up and Kris went out by the front door. The storm door was open. We figured it might have been from the wind but there wasn't any wind. Then we heard someone walking around on the front steps. They tried the front door again. The noise we heard was when they opened the screen door it made the french door in the foyer kind of move so we heard it rattling. I told Kris to call 911 and as she was on the phone the individual (male, short hair, shortsleeve shirt and long pants) walked down the steps to the front walk and headed west and then turned around and headed east. The dispatcher told us to stay in the house and they would have police there in a few minutes. The police would search the area first and then come and talk with us. That they did. The police arrives a short few minutes later with spotlights on the neighbors houses and our house then they pulled up and we talked with the officer, telling her what had happened. She checked around the house and there was nothing. She was then going to proceed up the street to see if there was anyone wondering around. So we headed back in and tried to sleep...NOT! Wide wake and fell asleep an hour or so later. Kris checked the front porch this morning and he had kind of tramped some of our vines hanging out of our planters and he also dropped a crumpled up dollar bill in one of the planter. I also looked on the door and there were a couple scratches as to where it looked like he was trying to get a key in the lock. We think he was drunk and was at the wrong house, needless to say IT was scary. I was close to getting out the shot gun when I heard the noises which scares me also after what happened in Brookings(drunk kid broke into a house thinking it was his house and the owner of the house shot and killed him) this year. THANK GOD our doors were locked! We are very good about locking our doors when we are in the house anyway but WOW! That was WAY to much excitement and Abe has been praised and praised for being the BIG protector!

Bonus spotting of things you see commuting!

2009-06-25T09:19:00.002-04:00

Things I have seen, so far, on the road during my commute this week!

broken cds
pieces of a car after a crash
beer bottle tops
sticks
leaves
bolt and nut
pennies
cigarette butts (yuck)
screw
smashed plastic bottles for various liquids (pop and oil)
dead snake (gardener snake as I called them when I was little)
dead squirrel
part of the handle of my coffee cup (it was in the intersection of Russell and Prairie and there is no way I am stopping to pick it up with that wild traffic!) (coffee cup still hangs off the handlebar just fine!)

Those are all pretty common things we usually all see on daily bike commutes but.....The bonus spotting of today was:
A HUGE SNAPPING TURTLE! He was big, I mean bigger than a dinner plate big! Right in the middle of the road! Kind of odd as he was moving AWAY from the Covel Lake area to no lake the direction he was going. I hope someone puts him back in the lake otherwise the kids in the neighborhood he was heading to will torment the heck out of him! I should have stopped to take a picture of him!

Break out your money!

2009-06-22T17:10:00.004-04:00

HEY, YOU!

YES, YOU!

CLICK ON THAT MS LOGO

ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF

THE PAGE AND DONATE!

MS is another disease we need to stomp out!

Great weekend!

2009-06-22T09:24:00.002-04:00

I had a great weekend!

Friday I hit the clubhouse in Bridgetown. Saturday I headed off to the Ponca Revenge mountain bike race part of the Psycowpath Series for some officiating! These guys put on a great event! There were 85 riders taking on the five mile loop course. Numerous categories with numerous laps and numerous pages of writing for the officials but that was just fine with us! It was really fun. I had never been to a mountain bike race before and let me say, these riders are pretty tough. One class in particular, the Marathoners, rode the course for THREE HOURS straight! It was pretty cool to watch them have their own routine at the feed station. The winners (man and woman) of the marathon class did seven laps in those three hours. Kudos! You can read about the results here.
Let me also say that this is a great State Park that offers camping, hiking and biking!

Saturday I buzzed to the local G-Store to get a steak and some sides to grill at the clubhouse! YUMMY! One of my mom's friends, Rose, came over and we sat and visited also. Great way to end the day!

Sunday was a lazy day and then headed home to get caught up with Kris who was at a Garden Party Tour in Pierre at her sister and brother-in-laws house. They had a good time.

Today is the first day since May 11 that I have been on my bike! I had bronchitis and and upper respiratory infection all at once so have not been 100 percent in a while. I am not so sure I am yet, but I am in the 90s at least! Anyway, I commuted to work today! I am SO HAPPY! This has made my week and it is only Monday!

Rest of the week....
FAB newsletter stuff, Thursday FAB Time Trial and Saturday Bike-a-palooza!

Thursday afternoon silliness!

2009-06-18T16:03:00.002-04:00

I got this joke from my niece this afternoon and found it VERY funny
but be warned it is semi-naughty!

A PSYCHIATRIST'S EVALUATIONS
A psychiatrist was conducting a group therapy session with four
young mothers and their small children.

"You all have obsessions," he observed.

To the first mother, April, he said, "You are obsessed with eating.
You've even named your daughter Candy."

He turned to the second mom, Jenny: "Your obsession is with money.
Again, it manifests itself in your child's name, Penny."

He turned to the third mom, Erica: "Your obsession is alcohol.
This too shows itself in your child's name, Brandy."

At this point, the fourth mother, Emily, quietly got up, took her little boy
by the hand and whispered,
"Come on, Dick, this guy has no idea what he's talking about.
Let's go pick up Peter and Willy from school.

Bike-A-Palooza

2009-06-15T15:12:00.006-04:00

Monk’s Bike-a-Palooza

June 27, 2009

Location:420 E. 8th St. Sioux Falls, SD 57103

2:00 Beer/Soft Drinks available, Bike Shops set up

2:00 – 2:30 Bike Parade
Parade will start at Monk’s on 8th St., 8th St. to Weber Ave, Weber to Falls Park, Falls Park to Phillips Ave, Phillips Ave to 8th St. and back to Monk’s

3:00 – 9:00 Food Available

3:00 – 5:00 Live Music
oxford comma

4:00 Kid’s Events
Present Bikes Up to 25 bicycles will be presented to children identified by Volunteers of America.
Kid’s Slalom Race Age-grouped, timed slalom race. Groups may be ages 0-5, 6-9 & 10-12

6:00 Adult Events
Clunker Crit
Wheelie Competition
Foot Down Competition
Bike Toss
Bike Joust

7:00 - 9:00 Live Music
Surly Endo & the Chainlinks

The past week in review......

2009-06-15T13:40:00.004-04:00

Time flies when you are having fun...hahaha!

Not much going on but it seems to fill my days. Between, officiating, yard work and work in general it is keeping me busy.

A week ago I went to Norfolk to help with the Norfolk Classic bike races. It was a great time and I learned more about officiating thanks to Jon, Nancy, Cheryl and Glen. Saturday was a road race and Sunday was the crit from hell. It started out with a little rain which turned into a LOT of rain, hail and wind. Not fun. It soon stopped raining but the damage was done. We were SOAKED! The races were great and not any bad injuries which I was glad to see! I headed back to Yankton to find some biking buddies on their first overnight of the Tour De Kota. I found Mr & Mrs Biking Brady and RideVermillion at tent city and chatted a bit. I was glad I was heading home to a warm house and bed and not crawling into a wet tent with damp sleeping bags.

Thursday evening was the third installment of the Spoke n Sport Criterium. We had 18 riders for the Class B division and 7 riders for the Class A division. The evening was the best we have had so far for this race. They are a lot of fun to watch and it has been fun getting to know some of riders. If you have not been to one of the races yet you need to get out there and watch or heck for that mater, race! There are a lot of good people out there trying to grow this sport in our area so get out there and support it!

This past weekend we headed to the Clubhouse for some relaxing and fun. One of Kris's co-workers came along for the fun. Of course we hit Charlie's Pizza on and then Ben's Brewing Company on Friday night. Saturday it was doing the tourist thing. Out to the Gavin's Point Dam with a stop at MacGilly's at the Marina for refreshments. Once back in town we hit the Walnut Bar a.k.a. the Dead Animal Bar then it was off to the Ice House to have a couple beverages and smash the beer bottles under the dock. Both of mine and Rhonda's smashed but Kris was one for one. I think that means she buys the next time down there! We hit the Clubhouse for grilled burgers upon which I burned my arm on the grill lid. Dang that hurt and still hurts when it is not covered up. Then it was off to the musical Chicago at the Lewis and Clark Theater Company. WOW! Lots of YHS thespians in the musical. They wear a lot of lingerie in this musical. I was kind of amazed. I wondered what some of the older theater goers were thinking when they saw the scantly clad ladies. Those girls had a LOT of guts to get up there in those "costumes". The play itself was really pretty good. It amazes me some of the talent that the Yankton area has. You should go, as it is a great show but be warned that it might be a bit out there for some and it is not really for children.

This week will be full of some of the same old, same old. Work, golf, FAB newsletter, moving stuff in the basement to have some electrical work done and then off to the Clubhouse. Saturday I am off to Ponca NE to help with the Psycowpath series-Ponca's Revenge Mt bike race. My first ever, should be fun but a challange also.

Oh, yes, on the health front. I am doing better but still not 100% might be in the 90% range. A little set back from the rain soaked weekend in Norfolk but doing better! I have not been on the bike in a month and was going to ride to work today, but guess what? It is raining...AGAIN!

Biking weekend.........

2009-06-05T15:04:00.002-04:00

This weekend will be biking stuff for me. Not riding, but officiating. Not "official" officiating but helping and trying to gain more experience. Saturday is a road race and Sunday is a criterium. Should be fun if the weather cooperates! You can read about the races here.

There will also be more biking happening this weekend by some friends as it is the start of the Tour de Kota on Sunday.

To all my cycling friends riding the TDK this year, stay safe, have fun and to borrow a tweeted phrase from Riderermillion, "May the winds be light and the beer be cold!" Maybe I will see some of you on Sunday afternoon /evening at Riverside park in Yankton on my way back from Norfolk!

If you live in the south eastern /east central, rural part of the state please watch out for my fellow cyclist!

VERY Random thoughts.......

2009-05-29T15:43:00.006-04:00

* Had fun at the TT turn around point last night.
*Ordered up a new house, new SUV, new bikes and lots of other fun stuff then realized I was not the one from South Dakota that had won the powerball : (
*Happy our state has moved up the ranks of bike friendly states from 41st last year to 28th this year! Good job everyone!
*Wondering why my niece wanted to know my blood type. In case you are wondering my RoadID says A+.
*Had my first wood tick crawling on my sock last night after walking in some tall grass.
*Bummed my paycheck is sort a weeks pay from being sick all last week. We do not have sick leave and my vacation time is spoken for already.
*Heading to the Clubhouse tonight just for an evening of fun with Kris's brother-in-law and then some work tomorrow.
*Glad Abe didn't kill the bunny today. Abe slipped out of his collar and almost got the little furry hopper.
*Two biking events going on this weekend. I hope everyone stays safe and as one friend said "I hope the wind is light and the beer is cold!"
*Why did I eat so much at lunch?
*Called the doctor twice already today about my scratchy throat. It started up again yesterday afternoon. Still no return call. Makes me crabby. I think I need one more round of antibiotics.
*Hitting the Ribfest tomorrow evening for supper....YUMMY!
*Lots of work to do next week and I know already there is not enough time to get it ALL done.
*Seems my co-worker is not all that worried about her father having cancer. She didn't even go up and see him last night after his surgery but was quick to tell us her dog was being spayed today. What?
*Picking up the flowers from the Obert cemetery tomorrow. They told us they will only be allowed on the graves for one week. Used to be two weeks. Wondering why this has changed?
*Wondering why Carlos Zambrano (Cubs pitcher) can't control his temper better. Good job showing kids what NOT TO DO, CARLOS!~~~UGH!
*Looks like Lance is riding into good form during the Giro d'italia. Scary for a bit today when he crashed but he seems to be ok.
*Wondering what Alberto Contador is thinking about the Astana team dynamics these days and why he didn't try and defend his Giro title?
*Who will be the next sponsor of the Astana team?
*Hope to get back on the bike next week and do some commuting and more base riding.
*UPDATE-Doctors office finally called back. I will shortly have a 10 day supply of bactrim to kill this bug I have....HOPE IT WORKS!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Graduations and bike rides..........

2009-05-28T15:07:00.002-04:00

Hello, kids...

I am finally feeling better although I still have a cough, my voice is still not "normal" and I am tired but everything is going in the correct direction anyway! I missed the first night of golf last night, since it was cold and wet out there, I just didn't think it was wise for me to be out in the elements.

Last weekend Kris's nephew graduated from Augie with a degree in Business Administration and mathematics. Not sure how that all adds up..haha. It was a fun time. I think it was very cool of him to sit around and talk with us even though his college friends were around. Sunday after the official ceremony he hung with us again, so we decided to take him to Famous Dave's for supper. Plans were then made to hit Ribfest this weekend at some point. The boy is growing up!
Kris's niece also graduated this past weekend from St Olaf (with a degree in museum administration and woman studies?-not sure the exact degree SORRY!)and will be heading off to grad school this fall at NYU. Congrats Zach and Maren-job well done!!

The weekends are filing up VERY fast this summer. LOTS going on and I need to get on the bike!

Bike rides I plan on doing this summer----
FABRAD (July)
MS150 (August)
Margarita Ride (September)
Biking 4 Breast Cancer (September)
I also joined Snakebites-Bike 2 Work Challenge. With being under the weather May has not been kind to me for the B2WC. I hope to change that SOON!

Memorial Day

2009-05-22T15:04:00.003-04:00

This weekend as many of you know is Memorial weekend. It is not just a day off from work or a day to rush off to the stores to get the best sale on whatever product. Memorial Day is a day to remember. A day to remember family that has passed but mostly a day to remember the military men and women that gave their lives for all of us! Head over to CycleSD blog to put this into perspective. Pretty eye opening isn't it.

This weekend, thank a veteran for their service to our country. Thank them for your freedom.

To any service member or veteran out there that might read this blog.....THANK YOU!

FREE PANCAKES!

2009-05-13T14:04:00.004-04:00

FREE PANCAKES! Yes, you heard it FREE PANCAKES!

May 15th is Sioux Falls Bike to Work Day. Hit the Museum of Visual Arts between 6a-9a. Have fun talking with other bikers. Have a great breakfast to power you through your morning and the best part.....well, besides riding your bike to work, getting your head cleared out, exercise, less carbon on the environment and stress relief, is that it is FREE! More details here. You might even get to meet this years poster boy for the event or join in on his bike to work challenge, which you can read about here!

RIDE YOUR BIKE ON FRIDAY!

SEE YOU ALL THERE!

How many lives does a blinky light have?

2009-05-11T14:50:00.005-04:00

I hit the road this morning for my commute. It was a nice and sunny commute, just a little cool but all was good. I was making good time when I heard something fall and hit the road, behind me. I looked back and laying helplessly, in the middle of the road was my little red blinky light! I got turned around and started back to rescue it when a car came in it's direction. Was I going to see my little blinky light murdered right in front of me? I was hoping not and found myself saying, "Don't run over my little blinky light!" and of course repeated it a few times as the car drove over the top of it and MISSED IT! YEAH! I made it back to pick up the little scratched guy only to find that the clip was gone that holds it to my trunk. So I went searching for it and didn't see it anywhere until I looked on my trunk and there it was, clipped on and hang on for dear life! The blinky and clip were reunited. Now, the big test, was he going to work after hitting the deck----YES!

So, my blinky light is a Viewpoint blinky (el-cheapo), how many lives does it have? If I had a Cateye blinky would it have 9 lives? So, do assume that this little blinky might have 8 lives left even though it is not a Cateye? I am guessing it's life will be a bit shorter from this little mishap but the little guy lives on to illuminate my life, keeping me safe, for a few more days, I hope!

Be a responsible pet owner!

2009-05-08T15:12:00.005-04:00

An unfortunate thing happened to a couple of friends last night on a training ride. You can read about it here.

All I want to say is, PEOPLE, BE RESPONSIBLE PETS OWNERS! If you can't afford to take care of them or at least control them, you should not have them-PERIOD! Things could have turned out a lot worse for our friends. Thank GOD it didn't!

Dead wrong?

2009-05-04T15:35:00.002-04:00

After I tweeted on Twitter about a 20.85 mile bike ride, a funeral home is now following my tweets! Should I be worried?

Planting, poker and pacelines

2009-05-04T09:21:00.002-04:00

Great weekend to be OUTSIDE! Yup, finally no rain, a little wind but hey, it is South Dakota after all.

We got our flower bed all planted. Flower pots planted, tomato plants in their containers along with the marigolds to keep the bugs away from the little sweet 100s! Lawn mowed and fertilized. Bike chains and rear cogs all cleaned and lubed. Now there must have been some sort of payoff for doing all this work right? You guessed it, a bike ride. It is was not just an ordinary bike ride it was the annual Harlan's Anniversary ride / Harlan's Poker Ride / Harlan's customer appreciation ride, but this year we rode in memory of Cal's daughter who was killed in a car accident four months ago. I didn't know her but I am sure she was a great person given how nice her dad and uncle are.

Not sure how many attended the ride but there were quite a few. We opted for the bike trail ride instead of the Harrisburg ride. I was nervous about this as we rode counter clockwise around the trail. Now, to some of you it is not a big deal. To the ones that are novice and dislike hills it is kind of a big deal as you have to climb out of the falls area up a hill and up the switch backs by the the State Penitentiary. I am proud to say I did it without stopping! I think the part leading up to the bridge that goes over the spillway is hardest part so it makes the switch backs a little hard but not so bad. Kris had a hard time with them but she made it about halfway up which is excellent!
We regrouped at the bridge / dam area out by north Minnesota and met a couple of Lanehogs! Jefferson and his son Matt were along for Harlan's ride also and had never ridden the trail before so the tagged along with our group well, in the middle of our group. Kris and I rode sweep...hahaha! We got up by the zoo and of course the buffalo were standing under a tree and the BIG kitties were laying in the grass. We also saw a duck with her ducklings all in a perfect paceline swimming in the diversion ditch. I love that stuff! We made it back and with that Kris made another one of her goals-----ALREADY-----that was to make it around the bike trail loop! She did a great job yesterday! Not sure what she is going to do the rest of the summer with her goals already met! Just kidding. I know she wants to work on pace and getting faster which will come with more time in the saddle. At the end of the ride, I didn't have a good poker hand at all, didn't win a door prize, had good burgers, lemon aide and fun with friends...good weekend!

Help save some great buildings!

2009-04-30T14:17:00.003-04:00

Do your part and help save history! They are on the list as one of the 11 most endangered historic places!

Don't let our state destroy these wonderful buildings! These are amazing structures in Yankton and once they are gone they are gone. Help save history and sign the petition on the link to Governor Rounds to save the buildings at the Human Services Center!

Sick of the flu..........

2009-04-29T09:39:00.004-04:00

Ok, is anyone else tired of hearing about the swine flu? I know I am!

I realize that any bug like this is serious when it can spread fast but does the news media need to sensationalize the whole thing, making a lot of people panic about this?

A SIMPLE and EASY solution to reduce your risk for
catching any "bug": PEOPLE, WASH YOUR HANDS!

Does the media sensationalize about the 36,000 people that die from the "regular" flu or complications of the flu each year in the United States? Does the media sensationalize about the 1,500 people that die each day in the United States from cancer? Does the media sensationalize that 3,400 people each day are diagnosed with cancer in the United States? Heck, did you know that 1.2 million people die from bike related accidents world wide each year? Do we see HUGE breaking news crawls or hour long news specials about any one of these tragic things? NOPE.

Mrs Dude's Boob Fund!

2009-04-28T11:09:00.001-04:00

Check this out and donate to Mrs Dude's Boob Fund! (This is not a joke!)

Weekend recap........

2009-04-27T10:30:00.003-04:00

Had a great weekend but lots of windshield time. I found out on Thursday I was going to head to Minneapolis on Friday to receive some continuing education credits, basic electricity for door hardware, from our DHI-North Central Chapter. With heading to the Mpls area, I knew there are always bike races in the area so I contacted a few people to let them know I was going to be in the area and would like to "shadow" another official if it would be ok. They had a big race going on in Cannon Falls, MN called the Ken Wood Memorial Road Race, University of Minnesota-NCCC (North Central Cycling Championship). 340 riders and 70 collegiate riders for the race. The weather was to be crappy, rain, cold, wind, so I was prepared with all sorts of layers. I was paired up with Emily another official. She had never done the road racing commissaire part of the race before and since I had, we were a team. We followed the Cat 3 men (3-laps on a 21 mile course) for the race in the morning. Pretty "cushy" job, not that officiating is a cushy job, but since the wind was a bit cool and the threat of rain loomed all morning, it was good to be in a car. I even got to do my first call out of a race, meaning calling the group and going over some of the rules before leading them out on the course. In the afternoon, I did the Junior (1-lap on the 21 mile course)race and road with one of the parents, Bob, nice guy and good conversation was had. Good to see the parents involved and doing stuff with their kids! The race was also good just meeting other officials and and experiencing how bigger races are run.

This event also featured a "chip" system. This means that the racers have to rent or buy a "chip" about the size of a quarter, that is on a velco ankle strap. At registration the riders are given their chip. The chip has a number that is entered into the computer with the riders name. When a rider goes across the finish line the chip is triggered by a series of wires on the pavement which go to a computer and is plugged into the software system. This places the riders as to their finish. We do still keep track of the riders manually also and then everything is double checked from the officials manually scoring to the chip read-out sheets. Since technology is not 100% fool-proof and then if there are any DQ-d (disqualified) riders, the computer can't tell that, so it can be taken care of at that point. Once the finish is agreed upon then the results are printed and posted. Pretty cool system! Thanks again to all the officials, Matt, Bill, Bruce, Jeff, Steve, Emily, Larry, and two others that I can't remember their names (SORRY!) that helped me learn a bit more about officiating. Also thanks to all the corner marshalls braving the wind out on the corners to keep everyone safe during the race! One older lady who was a corner marshall in teh morning, was from Des Moines, and was there to see her granddaughter race for the U of M. How cool is that to say your grandmother was out there as a corner marshall! She did a heck of a job out there also!

I left Sioux Falls around 8:30am on Friday morning and made it back to Sioux Falls 8:30 pm Saturday night. Long couple of days and lots of miles, but it was worth it.