Lawrence is where it's at

Lawrence, Kansas. Who would have thought?

I drove into Lawrence late Saturday night to Brian and Michelle's new house. I thought I had the wrong address as I drove through cornfields, over severely uneven railroad tracks, and onto roughly paved roads. It was some time after 11pm and all I could see were randomly placed homes on large acreage plots and small blue street signs listed by numbers (1500, 1750, etc.). I almost called Brian to make sure I was in the right area when in the blink of an eye those rural roads turned into small town suburbia. The pavement quieted, the street signs appeared more quickly and were actual words (Summit, Northwind, etc.), and street lamps popped up. "Wow, we're going to have an amazing ride tomorrow", I thought to myself.

Michelle woke me up Sunday morning and I walked downstairs like a zombie, only focusing my senses on the smell of coffee and eggs. I was told we were joining an 8:30 group ride as Brian gave me the second half of his bagel, insisting I eat more because supposedly it's a long, tough ride. To hear him say a ride is tough means he is serious. I suddenly became extremely excited to start the ride, also glad I brought my Aeolus wheels. Last year I would have been frightened by a ride description of long and hard, but now it's nothing but a great chance for me to increase my endurance and fitness.

We rode about 2 minutes through town and met the group - all guys, mostly older (masters type guys), and one woman besides Michelle and I. They all watched us roll up and just stared at me with mini-smiles, curious as to who I was and excited to see a fresh face. They all asked about Team Revolution and gave compliments about the teeth on my bike. The ride took off at a great pace through town and once we hit the country roads we began to take turns pulling. I was able to ride next to many different guys, Gary, Tom, Joe, Dan, Scott, and the dude on the freaking fixed gear with bullhorns - kudos man! I took my turn pulling more than some of the others who sat toward the bike and just enjoyed good company. I enjoyed sharing the work and also looked forward to pulling off the front so that Dan could move up and make some silly comment like, "Eh, good", or "have you seen the movie Babe? You did good Babe, you did good", or "not too bad". I finally cracked about 2 hours into the ride and was glad to have Michelle show me where to sit my front wheel in the drafts. After a stop for more water we were close to town and I managed to take a county limit sign before my legs told me to stop the hard efforts. The weather was beautiful, the route absolutely perfect, and the company warm.

Once we were done showering, baking cakes for Brian's graduation party, and refueling, Michelle and I went into town to stop by Dan's shop so I could get a cool t-shirt. Dan ended up giving it to me, along with 2 neat Life is Good stickers I picked out. What a great guy - SUPER strong rider, great business owner, and wonderful friend. If you are ever in Lawrence, please stop by his shop and say hello to him - tell him I sent you. After Michelle had to pull me out of the shop, we drove to get beer for the party and came back home with time for me to start reading my new book and hang out with Nick before the party-goers arrived.

I met some great people on the ride and at the party. Everyone wanted to meet each other, were excited to get to know each other, and just had a great time. It's nice going to parties where nobody acts too cool to introduce themselves. It seems like in St. Louis some people feel they are too cool to meet new people.

What a fantastic weekend.

This week I am working a bunch in order to leave next weekend for Quad Cities. Race hard, rest well!