Turkey Weekend

Oh the drama.

Wed. night, Holly and I loaded up the Jeep (cat included) and made the trek up to Mom and Dad's house in the OC. I pulled three workouts and an 8-hour shift lifeguarding and still summoned the energy to pack up and drive 85 miles. Needless to say we piled into bed pretty late.

Thursday morning, I bagged the Rock N' Road annual climb up Harding in favor of sleeping in. I took a leisurely spin around the Fullerton Loop before Holly and I cruised over to her parent's house for the requisite Thanksgiving stuffing (us, not the Turkey). Holly's mom did an awesome job and it was cool to hang out with her family for a change. However, with 3 brothers, 6 cats, 2 dogs and assorted friends, the house got crowded fast.

Friday morning I slept in again (woot!) and headed over to Fullerton Loop for the 6th Annual Le Tour de Tryptophan: underground 24-Solo in the heart of OC. Low key and always a good time.

Tools of the trade.

Sweet T-Shirts. Proceeds from T-Shirt sales go to help a different charity every year. This year it would be the Brent Thomson memorial fund (Bootleg Canyon founder) and help pay medical bills for Dave Collins who has terminal cancer. Ride on, man.Pre-race meeting in the Courthouse parking lot. Quite the turnout!How'd I get out front on a single speed when it's flat!? Gene immediately behind me would be going for the record: 17 laps, which calculates to nearly 190 miles.Geared bikes would pass me on the flats and downhills, but I'd reel 'em all in on the climbs. By lap 5, I was out front by nearly 30 minutes. Rollin' on the big wheels for this one. I think 29'ers fare better on courses with wide open sections. The jury is still out on whether 26" or 29" wheels are better for XC racing (for me at least). Rolling handlebar shot.I pulled the plug after 5 laps like I had planned. Hard to do considering the lead I had, but I'm looking at the big picture.

Saturday, we just chilled. One of my fav. places to eat in OC is a tiny little Mexican food place in Placentia near where I went to high school: "Q-Tortas". THE best mex food in the area. Stop by if you're ever near Cal State Fullerton.

Sunday, we ran some errands and started getting ready for the trip back to S.D. When I went to get my oil changed, the guy tells me my drain plug is stripped and he couldn't change it. My buddy Alex wrenched on cars for a long time and tells me about oversize drain plugs for just such and occasion. I bought one, started the install and...snapped the insert off inside the oil pan. Sh!tty.

Monday I took the car to the mechanic: part's on back-order, lemme see what I can find.

Tuesday: Got the part late and we gotta clean it. It'll be tomorrow.

Wed: Truck's finally done...$750 bucks! Friggin' robbery. Mom and Dad to the rescue again (credit card in hand).

This week is all about buckling down for my last final exam of my undergrad degree (hopefully!). Training's taking a back seat for now, but I'm looking forward to cranking it up once I'm done with my final. Wish me luck!

E.