Midsummer

So I guess today is the official first day of summer, huh?

Unfortunately, in South Carolina and Georgia, summer temperatures started right around the time Christmas trees hit the curb.

 My summer got kicked off for real this week. It's basically been everything I thought it would be.

June 13th was my last day at work. It's not so weird looking back on it now, but at the time it was a really strange transition. I started with that company when I was 18. It opened my eyes to a whole section of the world that I didn't know, that I mostly denied still existed. It was educational.

For the most part, though, the people there were good to me. They worked with my school schedule when I went back to college in 2009 and I was paid fairly. For a while there, I was almost part of the family. We all saw how that worked out though.

Last Saturday, MM and I loaded up The Beast (tm) and headed up to Greenville to go ride up some hills. I had never done Caesar's Head before that and the climb that followed it, Bitch Hill, was a lesson in maintaining enough momentum to not fall over. It was a solid outing with the riding crew that I seemed to settle into over the past two years. And a decent excuse to stop at Wendy's

Tim Malson and I scouted out the location for the Cycle-Smart 'Cross Camp South on Monday, and let's just say, I am stoked. The lodge itself is super nice and has great potential to be a really beautiful spot. The trails that were recently cut into the woods provide lots of double track, a few creek bed crossings and a great opportunity for a run up. I think that the majority of the skills work that takes place will be right around the lodge itself, creating a super welcoming and comfortable environment for everyone who comes to attend.

After a short drive back to Columbia, the real work began. I started loading up the van for the big trip down I-95. I packed more bike equipment than I probably needed (three bikes, three extra sets of wheels, tools), a dog, a turtle and some food. Blue and I made what felt like the longest drive to Savannah EVER. She was sort of restless in the car, and liked to stand up and block my side mirror at the most inopportune moments, but once we got settled into Jen's house she got quite comfortable with the other dogs.

I kind of took over the spare bedroom, and a cabinet, and the fridge. But Jen seems ok with that. It's super relaxing that we can hangout and not feel like we're on a schedule. It's Sunday afternoon and she's napping while I lay on the couch and watch TV. We know we don't have to say bye this evening and that's been great.

However, Jen has to get up and go to work tomorrow morning. I just have to take care of the animals, ride, study and sleep. This past week was my biggest week of riding ever, totaling up to about 18 hours of training. It's been great getting to wake up whenever I naturally wake up, go ride for 3-5 hours and then come home on my own schedule. There's no added stress of having to squeeze in rides around work, and the only big obligation I have coming up (and it is a BIG one) is the GACE on Friday. Of course, I should probably also finish my grad school application for Armstrong.

With that, I'll leave this blog silent for a few more days. I've got another big week of riding coming up, the big test, and general Savannah relaxing. I'll try to be more diligent with the posting, as I know you all are eager to hear what I'm up to!