Vancouver

Made it to Vancouver in one piece bike and all. That is always a great way to start out a trip!
My homestay, Mark and Cara, live in North Vancouver which has one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. It took a while to weave around all of vancouver in my tiny little rental car(Vancouver is a HUGE and densly populated city). From their deck you can see all of downtown Vancouver and the Lion's Gate bridge and even the race site -- a spectacular view!

First full day in town I put the bike together without a hitch (more good karma)and was off to meet the Lifesport coaching crew and some of the other pro's in the race, as well as some of the sponsors. I wasn't sure what to expect since this was my first official VIP party, but everyone was so nice and inviting, I left with a great first impression of everyone involved lookng forward to participating in a well run event with some great support!

On Saturday, i woke up with terribly sore calves. what the heck? how did this happen i have no idea. all i can think is it was either from lugging my bike, suitcase, wheelbag and backpack thru the vancouver airport abouta mile to the rental car place....or all the hills i have been walking up and down - or the stairs at mark's house!! he lives in an awesome house built down the side of a mountain that has a lot of stairs - and i have no stairs at home...so maybe it was the ups and downs...? ha! it's funny - how you think your in such good shape but you change one little thing in the routine and end up with wickedly sore claves! I was walking like an old lady the day before the race! I tried not to think about it!

So I made my way down to the event venue (about 45 minutes through Vancouver - traffic is HORRIBLE, but i was in no hurry...and neither is anyone else!) for a little swim/bike/run to get familiar with the course and test out the frigid water. Turns out the water was tolerable - yeah, cold for me, but with the neoprene cap, i was perfectly fine. the new neoprene cap I got was the one made by ZOOT and I LOVE IT. I hate to have things around my neck, but this chin strap on this cap was flexible that I barely noticed it...and thats a good thing! this afternoon, we dropped out bikes off in transition and it was back to Mark's for a hot bath for the legs and good night's sleep before the race.