USGP Weekend Recap!

This past weekend, the USGP (U.S. Grand Prix) of cyclocross was held in Fort Collins!!! The weekend turned out to be sooo much fun.

We started things off Friday night with the rider presentations a the Rio Grande restaurant downtown. This is where they introduce all the "famous" people. Teal was there, and she was one of the famous people being introduced! We talked about it later and how it's kind of funny how cyclists are only really famous among other cyclists. So they can be a rockstar at the race weekends, but then during the rest of the week, or on the off season, nobody knows who they are or what they do, it's not like the have to deal with paparazzi (unless you're Lance of course). We both found it amusing. I am super excited for all the success she has been having lately! It's highly amusing to think about how we have been rivals all along growing up in sports (although she was aways just out of my reach...) and now she's in the big leagues! So cool!
It snowed some on Friday, and Saturday was FREEZING!!!! I had a great time spectating and cheering. I have a "technology" assignment for a class due on Tuesday, so I was video taping some of the races to get some footage for my project. I think I'm going to do something about muscles...maybe zoom in on all the cyclists gluteus maximus' for effect or something :) Caley drew kind of a bad start, 56, and ended up finishing a few places ahead of that! Whoo hoo!
Sunday I was at the venue allll daaaaaay looooonnng. My volunteer shift was from 11:30-4:30, but I had to go in early with Caley because he was in the pit for Brian, and I wouldn't have had a ride over later. Anyway, it was another cold day, and suuuuper slippery in the morning, people were crashing all over the place :) My volunteer job was to fix the tape marking the course, it was pretty fun. I just had to walk around, cheer, and fix tape :) Caley drew a much better number, 36, and ended up in the 40's somewhere, but he didn't get pulled until two laps to go, vs three laps to go on Saturday!
All in all, a GREAT weekend!! What an amazing group of super nice people!!

Oh, I forgot, we also went out to dinner with some industry people on Saturday night. It was a blast! Of course there was lots of bike talk, but the conversation never really lulled (is that a word?) and we made some new friends/connections. I had a great time talking with the guy named Peyton who works in the entertainment industry in LA. He was really nice, and we had a great time. The next day we were chatting at the race course, and I come to find out his "entertainment job" is the lighting director for Greys Anatomy! Whoa! Go figure, a cyclocross superfan who works for Greys Anatomy! :) I love meeting random people like that :) I'm also really glad Caley includes me in his work life. I was definitely the hanger-on at the dinner of industry mucky-mucks, but nobody seemed to mind, and now I'll know who Caley is talking about when he mentions the "sales guy for SRAM, etc, etc.

Then I came home and did 4 geology lab and 1 geology exam. Go me!

For real, pics coming sometime...maybe not in the near future, but sometime :)

Goodbye Fall?

Snow in the forecast for tomorrow, although I'm pretty skeptical, we shall see. It was 85 on Saturday down in Boulder, I got quite the sunburn watching Caley race and working the pit for him. In cyclocross racing, you can have an extra bike in what is called the "pit" usually located at the middle point of the loop, and accessible from the outgoing side of the loop, and the incoming side of the loop (if that makes any sense at all). Racers can enter the pit from either direction, and swap out bikes. They may choose to do this for several reasons: too much mud and goo, flat tire, lost brakes, mental issues, etc. The pit crew can then change the flat, clean the goo, or pretend to do something to calm the racers mental issues. The racer can then come back to the pit on the next go around and get their original bike. They can do this as many times as they like. The pit is a crazy place, luckily Caley didn't need any flat tires changed, he would have been out of luck with my skills :) This past weekend, I also had the pleasure of working an 11 hr day in the lab. I got to switch labs a couple of times, but it was pretty horrendous, never again!

The next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break are going to be pretty hectic. I am teaching another lesson on Thursday after completing a take home exam on Wednesday, then I'm giving a partner presentation on a "unit plan" the following Wednesday (the unit plan we still have to finish...) This coming weekend, I have 4 labs due in Geology, plus an exam and some discussion posting online. The USGP is here as well, and I'm volunteering on Sunday! Good grief... But! Then I get to hop on a jet plane taking me to the Pacific Northwest to see some excellent friends and family and eat some delicious food! Soooo excited!!

I do promise I'll put a montage of photos up here at some point soon, or maybe a link to a picasa album or something...I figured out how to do that the other day, neato :)