Taken during our morning swim

Yesterday was amazing. More on that later. Now, I'm going for another swim!

Swimming with Dolphins, Running with underpants and riding 112

The last 3 days have been super busy, jammed pack with fun activities, conference stuff, and preparations for the big day.

For starters, on Wednesday the whole crew went down to the swim course for our first open water swim. Khai, Joel and I went right for the Coffees of Hawaii boat where that you can swim up to and get a hot espresso shot while bobbing in the ocean. When we got there we started noticing pure awesomeness- Dolphins! They were everywhere! We're not talking a couple. There were dozens of them all over the swim course swimming with all the athletes. For the next 45 minutes we followed the dolphins around as they played and frolicked. I picked up my head for awhile and saw that there was one who was doing tricks- he was jumping out of the water, spinning a couple times and falling back in. Totally amazing. The Coffees of Hawaii peeps got some pics of the fun!




Then on Thursday it was the long awaited Kona Underpants Run! Khai, Will, Tracy and I put on our best attire and went down to do a killer loop around the Kailua, with calisthenics and our 300 or so closest friends. What a blast! Here are some pics:

The whole crew taking over town:



T-racer showing off her special made NUUN bikini:



And the crew after the race showing off our outfits (Khai LOVES his compression socks):


And showing off our HUGE muscles!




Then today I headed off on my own to tackle the bike course. It's a one-loop out and back from Kailua to Hawi (pronounced Ha-vee). The first (and last) 35 miles or so are pretty baron and windy and through miles and miles of lava fields. Then you make a turn towards Hawi and get to face strong headwinds AND a long climb up to town. The climb isn't that bad in itself and it's actually very pretty. You go from black lava to lush green in the span of 10 miles. It was my favorite part of the course. One very important message about this bike course that I learned today, though is:

- No matter what direction you go, you ALWAYS have a headwind. ALWAYS.

The way back was a bit brutal. It's windier on the way back than the way out, especially from miles 75-90. And for someone who hasn't ridden > 40 miles in seemingly forever, my neck and butt were killing me! But I made it back, and now we are all chilling before our early appointment with bed tonight. BIG RACE TOMORROW!!!!!

Day 3/4 Kona

I'm sleepy! Things are getting pretty crazy here. The expo opened tonight and we all went down to see the revealing of the Cervelo P4 and see the exhibits. I got the hookup for a free pair of Zoot compression socks, so that was pretty awesome. Saw Norman Stadler at Lava Java, so I got my celebrity sighting out of the way. So anywho, here is a pictorial of the last 2 days

Yesterday we went down to the energy lab to get a run in. I ran with Khai on the way out and Joel on the way in. Here is us coming back, energy lab in the background. The vog was heavy yesterday!



Here is trouble sitting together. Joel Filliol and Paulo Sousa.




And the whole group post- run:



Tracy's husband Shawn works for NUUN and we are all big fans of the product. Will was such a big fan that he put 4 tablets in his mouth at once. I think the regret was instant..



Today I did zero training, but we did have a very fun ocean session where we played in the water behind the condo. I found Nemo, I swear! Here are some pics of us hanging out:





And then some silliness ensued. We decided to take stupid pictures mocking some new and old slowtwitch threads. Watch out when a bunch of tapering athletes, coaches and support crew get together!

KONA- Day 1/2

Arrived in KONA last night after a very long day of travel. I arrived with Jonny, Danny, and Paulo at the airport early in the morning and tried to change to their flight since I didn't leave until noon. No dice. Orbitz booked me through 2 different airlines so that wouldn't work. So I went from El Paso to Phoenix to Maui to Kona. I arrived in Maui and checked to see what gate I needed to go to. Funny, my flight isn't listed... hmmmm... I asked a security guard and he said that my airline left from the other terminal. Ok.... So I walked over there and saw my plane to Kona:



It had 9 seats. And they charged me AGAIN for my bike since it was a different airline. But it was pretty cool since the bike was actually ON the plane with me (as in, it wouldn't fit under the plane so they strapped into the back seat). You know the plane is small when the pilot can open the window. And when he has to apologize to you for needing to move his seat back. Good stuff.

I was thrilled to get to Kona and see how truly awesome our condo is. Khai put up some pictures here
How freaking awesome is this place?? Here is the view from our balcony (self portrait day 1):



We went grocery shopping, where we spent our life savings on Oatmeal and bagels and then passed out.

The conference today was really great. Learned tons of great stuff. Looked completely gross from my 1 mile walk to the conference hotel which landed me at registration covered in sweat. It wasn't a big surprise that no one sat by me. Damn it's humid and hot here! And no AC anywhere.

After the conference the guys were nice enough to wait for me to ride. I went out with Will, Jacqui (both pros) and Danny (an awesome age grouper) to ride on the Queen K. I"m not exactly sure how long I thought I would be able to hang with them.... I think I have delusions of grandeur every once in awhile. I"m lucky to have great friends who humor me from time to time

Danny ready to ride:




I hung with them about 10 minutes into the ride once we landed on the Queen K before I started feeling pretty sick from the heat and lack of anything but water to drink. I soft pedaled and got off the bike at one point to try to eat something. It didn't really help me feel any better, but I got some cool pics of the Kona bike course:

Lava fields:



Awesome signs:




Back at the condo I gave Will his birthday present. If you've ever been to a city Ironman week you know how people act. Well multiply it by 1000 at Kona. That's why when I saw this shirt I knew he had to have it, since Will is probably the most humble pro in the sport:




Then it was off to LAVA JAVA! The coffee shop where people go to see and be seen. Here is some of our pro contingent hanging out (Tracy, Will, and Jonny):


Then Will showed me how to make a chicken out of a napkin at dinner:



And my self portrait of day 2:



And here are some blog links to the other members of our group that will be showing up in pictures and blogs for the rest of the week:

Paulo Sousa
Jonathan Caron
Will Ronco
Danny Montoya
Jacqui Gordon
Tracy Robertson and Shawn Frack
Sergio Marques
Joel Filliol

Packing a bike for shipping - a tutorial

What you will need:

Multi-tool
Pedal wrench (will vary depending on your pedal)
Pipe insulation (can get this at Home Depot. Get a couple sizes of 6 foot long strips)
Long zip ties
Scissors
Bike box (I use a Serfas and it is just fine. Your LBS probably sells used ones)
Plastic thingamabobs for your wheel axle and bike frame (comes with box)
Masking tape (blue painters tape is ideal)
Ziploc bag



Step 1: The F&%%#ing pedals!
This is by far the most frustrating part of the whole experience. A pedal that has been on for a long time can be a serious pain to get off. Twice I have just taken my bike to the LBS to have them take them off. (I have never been charged for this) But with the proper tool you should be able to do it.

!Important! Pedals are designed so that they will not loosen by riding. Subsequently they are threaded in opposite directions. The right pedal is a normal thread. Lefty loosey applies. The left pedal is threaded opposite. So in order to remove it you have to turn it to the right

Non-drive side (finger pointing in direction of loosening:



Drive side- again, finger pointing in direction of loosening



KEEP IN MIND: If you have Look pedals they remove from the inside using a Hex wrench. Buy a long one with a handle- you will need leverage. Pictured above I am using my multitool. This will work if your pedals have been removed recently and/or tightened by hand. Don't let the fact that you are unscrewing from the inside of the pedal confuse you. Just look at the above pictures for the correct direction.

If you have a trainer, remove the pedals when it's on the trainer. It will help stabilize the bike if you need to put extra torque on the tool.

When pedals are removed, put the pedals and washers into the ziplock bag

Step 2: Remove seat

Remove the whole seatpost. There should just be 1 or 2 screws to loosen on the frame. Loosen by a few turns and lift the whole seatpost out of the frame. Set aside.

Loosen the screw on the "collar"



Pull seatpost straight out:



Step 3: Remove Headset

There are 2 parts to this. There are 2 screws on the side which tighten the headset down, and then one long screw that goes through the spacers into the fork. Take the long screw all the way out and put the screw and any spacers you have on top of the headset into the ziploc.






Loosen the 2 on the side. Don't take the headset off yet.

These are the 2 screws I'm talking about:




Step 4: Take off your wheels.

If you have a rear wheel drop out make sure your chain is in the big ring up front and smallest ring in the back. This will make it easier on you. Remove the skewers first and put in the ziploc.




Take off the wheels and set aside. Place frame in the bike box on top of one layer of padding (put the other 2 layers aside), drive side up.





Step 5: Pull off the headset and put any spacers from under the headset into the ziploc.




Tape the brake levers down.





Step 6: Remove your rear derailleur. DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP. A bent derailleur hanger is a ruined frame. It is just held on by a single hex screw. Completely unscrew the derailleur and remove from hanger. Tape it down to the frame when you are done. Don't worry, it just screws right back on when you get to your destination- no adjustment necessary (I will do another post on putting a bike back together)







Step 7: PADDING!
Cut pieces of pipe insulation to fit on each piece of your bike. Pipe insulation is great because it has a slit and you can pop it right over your frame. Secure each piece with a zip tie. I use 2 pieces together to cover my downtube since it is a wide aero tube.




Step 8: Put on the plastic frame protectors where your wheels should be. These should come with the bike box.




Step 9: Put the multi-tool into the ziploc bag. All the necessary parts to put the bike back together are now in the bag. Close the bag and tape it to the side of the box so it can't roll around and hurt your frame.



Step 10: Tape your seatpost and handlebars to your bike. Put your helmet and water bottles in the box. That's all I will put in my box because of weight, and also because anything heavy could damage the frame if it comes loose. Make sure your fork is oriented as shown in the pic:





Step 11: Cover the bike with insulation piece #2



Step 12: Put plastic protectors on the wheels. This prevents the axles from going through your frame




Step 13: Lay down the wheels, overlapping in the box. Put an old shirt between them where they rub. Make sure the wheel axles are not directly over a piece of your frame



Step 14: Put the third piece of insulation over the wheels



Step 15: Put the top of the bike box on. It should be tight. This is what keeps things from rattling around.




Main principles:

Tape everything to the frame or to the box. Your box is likely going to be opened. You want TSA to be able to life your bike out of the box and not disturb any of your hard work. If everything is taped together, it can't be screwed up when it is put back in by a non-bike person

Don't put a bunch of crap in there. It just increases your likelihood of scratching your frame and being overweight. Staying under 50 pounds is the key to not being doubly charged at the airport. The only other things I put in the box are my water bottles and helmet.

Don't lock your box without a TSA approved lock. TSA will just cut it.

Once you've done it a couple times it will only take you 10-15 minutes to pack and unpack. Give yourself plenty of time the first time. ALWAYS make sure that you can loosen your pedals on your own a couple days before your plane leaves. You need to give yourself enough time to get to a bike shop if you need assistance or don't have the right tool.

That's it! Let me know if I've missed anything. I hope this helps someone!

2 days to KONA!

Not much to report here other than....

GOING TO KONA ON SATURDAY!!!!

Actually I would be much more excited to go if I wasn't having such a great time here in Las Cruces. I just love this place. I did my one of my favorite climbs Tuesday and yesterday (yesterday I did it twice). It's a 1500 foot climb into a canyon. What makes it brutal is that most of the climb is a (VERY) false flat. This is the garmin readout from the last time I did it in March (for my repeat yesterday I went farther down before turning around)



And this is the view from the top (You can kind of appreciate it if you click it and make it bigger)



The second time up it yesterday I almost passed out and had to sit on the side of the road for bit. Had a nice conversation with a 60+ year old guy who climbs it on his MTB routinely. SUPASTAR!

After sitting around in a stupor for a couple hours we went out to Lorenzos Italian restaurant with the remaining crew. It's just me and the locals now, and all of us are going to headed to Hawaii. Some pics!

Misha and Danny are the cutest and nicest couple on the planet! Stop by Danny's blog to wish him a big good luck at Kona!:


Me and Paulo. I needed a pic to prove that I do, in fact, shower and brush my hair on occasion:


Danny and Jonny. Jonny has recently, on top of his Crohn's, developed a gluten allergy. If you have any great tips for gluten free foods to eat, stop by his blog to help him out!:


And finally, a group picture. I was given the assignment by MarkyV to take as many arm length self shots in Kona as possible, so this is one of my warm- ups. Speaking of MarkyV, he's racing at Longhorn this weekend, so stop by his blog to send some love!:




I'm hoping to get the bike box blog up tomorrow after I pack Mike Honcho away.

Oh, and to the person who commented asking what is the right way to rack your bike in transition: Your front wheel has to be on the side where your stuff is. Once you do it right you won't go back. It's much easier to exit T1 like that

:-)