Then we drove to just East of Pittsburgh to New Stanton to find a place to stay for the night. We dragged part of our luggage then our bikes into the room to stay for the night with us.
In the morning after a very short continental breakfast we stopped at the gas station for Diet Coke....and forgot to fill up. So, we stopped a short time later for gas where we saw Tracey and Mike on their way to Madison, too! Turns out they stayed in New Stanton as well, but at a different hotel. Anyway, I forget how many pit stops we made during the rest of the trip up to Madison... But I remember I had a taco salad for lunch... I also remember the traffic around Chicago! Holy. Cow. When I was a kid my dad always used to say “Chicken in the car, car can’t go, that’s how you spell ‘Chicago’.” I never quite got it back then... But for real, the car would not go...That back up was worse than getting out of the DC area, that’s for sure. Shortly after getting out of the worst of it we saw a caravan of Iwan (minus Melody) and Jason (with Melody). We kept up with them for a bit but decided we did not want to go quite that fast. Not too far from our final exit we saw another carload of possible Z-ers, too...at the time we did not know who was in the car but figured it was others because (1) it had 3 bikes on the back, and (2) it had Virginia license plates.
Once we got off the exit to our hotel we promptly drove right by it! We had to turn around before we finally pulled into the Sheraton, where most of the team was staying. As we pulled up we saw the same car that had just passed us and now we knew who was inside: Sue, Rohini, and...I forget. Carol ran in to registration and once she came back out we went straight to downtown Madison to meet the others for dinner. OK, I was really hating driving in downtown Madison with the one way streets (usually not a problem) but there were dead ends and such, too. After about three loops (sounds like a race) around the SAME block we finally parked and hurried to dinner. The group was upstairs and it was pretty full, so we started another section. Before too long another 10-ish (or more) peeps showed up. Dinner was fun but we left early so we could get some goodies at the store. You know, Diet Coke (most important), water, bagels, and peanut butter. Finally back at the hotel we had to again unload all luggage and the bikes. Once up in the room we realized we did NOT have a refrigerator. Really? Even the Comfort Inn in New Stanton had a fridge! We decided $10 x 2 nights was worth it for cold Diet Coke. Oh, and cold water. I prepped my two bottles of Heed for the next morning and Carol prepped her Infinit and it was pretty much bedtime.
Saturday morning: Up at 6:00AM to meet in the parking lot before 7:00AM for a quick brief before heading to the ride start, at the start of the loop on the bike course. Carol had a flat! Oh no! Rich to the rescue! We were still putting the bikes on the car when Coach and the others left...and we really did not know where to go. Luckily, one other car was lagging so we were able to catch up with them and follow along to the meeting site. Time to get ready to ride! But would you believe...I had forgotten my bottles of Heed and Carol was missing a shoe! It was not her day it would seem. But again, Rich to the rescue! He had an extra pair of shoes, with the correct cleat, and even though it was too big, Carol was able to ride. I was only doing one loop and Carol and Pam were doing two. The loop was a lot of fun and this was to be my longest ride in months! We did finally see our first Wisconsin cows, too. There were a couple of hills that we were ‘warned’ about. One was a half mile climb and the other was short and steep. Nothing we have not tackled before. There were some fun rollers, too. I spent most of the ride with Carol and Maggie. Total bike miles: 40.6 After my loop I loaned my shoe to Carol so she did not have to wear a boat. Off she went for the second loop. At this time I was starving and went into the restaurant (The Draft House) to change and have lunch with the other one-loopers and then the fast two-loopers. We kind of took over one section of the place. The Draft House had chocolate milk – thanks for sharing, Tracey! And I had a(nother) yummy taco salad and some fries...
After all riders made it in, it was decided that we would meet at the transition area at Monona Terrace at 6:15PM for another briefing before splitting up for dinner. Back to the hotel to clean up first. I took Pam, Carol, Linda, and Donna along and we snagged a decent parking space. I must say, I am not signed up for IM Moo...but after riding the bike course and checking out the venue in the heart of Madison...I kind of wish I was. It is so cool! I am excited to hear about everyone’s experience after the race in September and if the team ever does this event again would likely consider it, or do it on my own.
Dinner was pizza by the slice at Ian’s! I just had one cheese and one with chicken and pineapple. Carol got macaroni and cheese and I can’t remember what Pam and Linda got. Donna must have had other dinner plans. After pizza we found ice cream at the Chocolate Shoppe! It was heavenly – Linda and I had vanilla cherry but we tried Pam’s and Carol’s. Carol had cake batter and I think Pam’s – which was some kind of vanilla with fudge – was the best. Next time... And after a short walk back to the car it was time to head back to the hotel. I needed sleep!
Sunday morning: Up again at 6:00AM to meet at Monona Terrace for a 7:00AM run. Coach Ed handed out cue sheets. I was glad I took one, even though I was only going to run for an hour, maybe less. I headed out with the ladies and we ended up getting lost with Mike and Rich. Rich’s wife, Janet, called him on the cell to lead them to the right place but at this time I decided was a good place to just make my way back to the car. I felt a little confused with the landmarks so was glad I had the stupid cue sheet to get me back where I needed to be. Total run miles: 3.99 After my run I grabbed my Starbucks card so I could get a hot latte. It was delicious! I talked to some nice people outside about the race and about our team. I then met up with Tracey for a few minutes before heading back to the car to wait / catch up with Pam and Carol. We had no time to hang around as we had to get on the road – I had to work the next day and it was a 850-ish mile ride home!
Back at the hotel we cleaned up ASAP and got things loaded up and we were off! This time we managed to find our way to the highway with no problem. After driving for a short time I realized we should get gas and we stopped at the first place that came along. While at the gas station I bough a Mega Millions ticket! It was a smart choice to stop as we were right next to a wine and cheese shop and we could finally get some cheese to take home to our loved ones!
In the morning after a very short continental breakfast we stopped at the gas station for Diet Coke....and forgot to fill up. So, we stopped a short time later for gas where we saw Tracey and Mike on their way to Madison, too! Turns out they stayed in New Stanton as well, but at a different hotel. Anyway, I forget how many pit stops we made during the rest of the trip up to Madison... But I remember I had a taco salad for lunch... I also remember the traffic around Chicago! Holy. Cow. When I was a kid my dad always used to say “Chicken in the car, car can’t go, that’s how you spell ‘Chicago’.” I never quite got it back then... But for real, the car would not go...That back up was worse than getting out of the DC area, that’s for sure. Shortly after getting out of the worst of it we saw a caravan of Iwan (minus Melody) and Jason (with Melody). We kept up with them for a bit but decided we did not want to go quite that fast. Not too far from our final exit we saw another carload of possible Z-ers, too...at the time we did not know who was in the car but figured it was others because (1) it had 3 bikes on the back, and (2) it had Virginia license plates.
Once we got off the exit to our hotel we promptly drove right by it! We had to turn around before we finally pulled into the Sheraton, where most of the team was staying. As we pulled up we saw the same car that had just passed us and now we knew who was inside: Sue, Rohini, and...I forget. Carol ran in to registration and once she came back out we went straight to downtown Madison to meet the others for dinner. OK, I was really hating driving in downtown Madison with the one way streets (usually not a problem) but there were dead ends and such, too. After about three loops (sounds like a race) around the SAME block we finally parked and hurried to dinner. The group was upstairs and it was pretty full, so we started another section. Before too long another 10-ish (or more) peeps showed up. Dinner was fun but we left early so we could get some goodies at the store. You know, Diet Coke (most important), water, bagels, and peanut butter. Finally back at the hotel we had to again unload all luggage and the bikes. Once up in the room we realized we did NOT have a refrigerator. Really? Even the Comfort Inn in New Stanton had a fridge! We decided $10 x 2 nights was worth it for cold Diet Coke. Oh, and cold water. I prepped my two bottles of Heed for the next morning and Carol prepped her Infinit and it was pretty much bedtime.
Saturday morning: Up at 6:00AM to meet in the parking lot before 7:00AM for a quick brief before heading to the ride start, at the start of the loop on the bike course. Carol had a flat! Oh no! Rich to the rescue! We were still putting the bikes on the car when Coach and the others left...and we really did not know where to go. Luckily, one other car was lagging so we were able to catch up with them and follow along to the meeting site. Time to get ready to ride! But would you believe...I had forgotten my bottles of Heed and Carol was missing a shoe! It was not her day it would seem. But again, Rich to the rescue! He had an extra pair of shoes, with the correct cleat, and even though it was too big, Carol was able to ride. I was only doing one loop and Carol and Pam were doing two. The loop was a lot of fun and this was to be my longest ride in months! We did finally see our first Wisconsin cows, too. There were a couple of hills that we were ‘warned’ about. One was a half mile climb and the other was short and steep. Nothing we have not tackled before. There were some fun rollers, too. I spent most of the ride with Carol and Maggie. Total bike miles: 40.6 After my loop I loaned my shoe to Carol so she did not have to wear a boat. Off she went for the second loop. At this time I was starving and went into the restaurant (The Draft House) to change and have lunch with the other one-loopers and then the fast two-loopers. We kind of took over one section of the place. The Draft House had chocolate milk – thanks for sharing, Tracey! And I had a(nother) yummy taco salad and some fries...
After all riders made it in, it was decided that we would meet at the transition area at Monona Terrace at 6:15PM for another briefing before splitting up for dinner. Back to the hotel to clean up first. I took Pam, Carol, Linda, and Donna along and we snagged a decent parking space. I must say, I am not signed up for IM Moo...but after riding the bike course and checking out the venue in the heart of Madison...I kind of wish I was. It is so cool! I am excited to hear about everyone’s experience after the race in September and if the team ever does this event again would likely consider it, or do it on my own.
Dinner was pizza by the slice at Ian’s! I just had one cheese and one with chicken and pineapple. Carol got macaroni and cheese and I can’t remember what Pam and Linda got. Donna must have had other dinner plans. After pizza we found ice cream at the Chocolate Shoppe! It was heavenly – Linda and I had vanilla cherry but we tried Pam’s and Carol’s. Carol had cake batter and I think Pam’s – which was some kind of vanilla with fudge – was the best. Next time... And after a short walk back to the car it was time to head back to the hotel. I needed sleep!
Sunday morning: Up again at 6:00AM to meet at Monona Terrace for a 7:00AM run. Coach Ed handed out cue sheets. I was glad I took one, even though I was only going to run for an hour, maybe less. I headed out with the ladies and we ended up getting lost with Mike and Rich. Rich’s wife, Janet, called him on the cell to lead them to the right place but at this time I decided was a good place to just make my way back to the car. I felt a little confused with the landmarks so was glad I had the stupid cue sheet to get me back where I needed to be. Total run miles: 3.99 After my run I grabbed my Starbucks card so I could get a hot latte. It was delicious! I talked to some nice people outside about the race and about our team. I then met up with Tracey for a few minutes before heading back to the car to wait / catch up with Pam and Carol. We had no time to hang around as we had to get on the road – I had to work the next day and it was a 850-ish mile ride home!
Back at the hotel we cleaned up ASAP and got things loaded up and we were off! This time we managed to find our way to the highway with no problem. After driving for a short time I realized we should get gas and we stopped at the first place that came along. While at the gas station I bough a Mega Millions ticket! It was a smart choice to stop as we were right next to a wine and cheese shop and we could finally get some cheese to take home to our loved ones!
Once on the road back home I do not know exactly how many pit stops we made for gas, bathrooms, and food, but all in all it was not bad. I remember updating Facebook at some of the stops, so we had Indiana, Ohio, and Breezewood along the way. There were others... Going around the Chicago area was again s-l-o-w, but nothing like Friday! I finally rolled into my parking space at home at 2:30AM and got to bed at 3:00AM.
On Monday, the 6:00AM alarm came too way too early, but it was a fun trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Next up: DC Tri - Sprint - June 20th!
PS - I did NOT win the lottery...
Happy Training!!
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