Where Have You Been?

I know - it's been two weeks since my last blog posting. Things here have been as busy as ever, and I did enjoy some downtime on vacation last week as well. So, here's what's new, in a nutshell:

• I failed my originally planned rest week (supposed to be the week of 6/16). Not only did I do two races that week, I also set my best time of the season at the TT (24:27 - just 30 seconds off my all time PR)... Needless to say, I got "held back" and had to repeat my rest week the week of 6/23 (at least I didn't get fired!)
• Having to repeat wasn't so bad, considering I ended up with an infected saddle sore that required anti-biotics. That meant three full days OFF the bike...
• My mom, dad and the monkey (aka my niece) came to visit last weekend. It was great to see them, and to spend time together. On Saturday, we all went to Drumlin Farm in the afternoon. This is a GREAT place to take children - lots of farm animals as well as birds and other small creatures who have been rescued (from car accidents, etc.). If you get a chance, be sure to check them out.
• Last Monday was the start of our vacation, aka "training camp". We were a bit low key on the training camp aspect this year, after Mike's experience racing Mt. Snow on the weekend (he did well, finishing 4th, but it took a physical toll on him). Despite almost daily thundershowers (ok, they were really full-fledged storms), we managed to get rides in each day, including getting caught in a complete downpour on Tuesday.
• Wednesday, we headed up to our house in Maine, where we spent another evening with my family (who had been there all week - they were also on vacation, and visited Santa's Village in NH).
• In Maine, we did some work on our shed, went to the movies (a TRUE sign we are on vacation, since it's the only time we ever go) and did a couple of big bike rides. The biggest ride of the week was an epic from the house out to Rumford, over Roxbury Gap to Andover and then over East B Hill Rd (with a sustained 1 mile at 17% uphill grade) to Rte 26, down through Grafton Notch to Rte 2, and back to Bethel. Total was 83 miles with over 5200' of climbing in 4:40 (17.7 mph avg speed).
• We ended our vacation yesterday by heading to Wells Ave. This was my first "B" race, and I just really wanted to see how long I could stay with the pack (last year I attempted one "C" race, and was dropped a couple of times). My legs felt good, and partway through the race, I attempted an attack (but was quickly reeled back in). My goal changed from how long I could stay to staying with the pack for the entire race, which I accomplished! And Brooke would be proud of how I moved around in the pack, too ;-). We finished the 25 lap race (just about 20 miles) with an average speed of 25.5 mph.

Here are a few pics from the week as well:


Uncle Mike and the monkey; Faith enjoyed all the different animals


The rainbow actually came BEFORE the deluge...



Today, it's back to the grind after a fun-filled and relaxing (if you call 300+ miles of riding relaxing ;-)) vacation.