Catching Up

I typed this one up on the train on the way back to Germany, but never got around to posting:

So that's the season. Today's race unfolded a bit differently than expected, the break went on the first lap and with 26 Italians in the field and a couple of them up the road, there was not a whole lot of activity in the group when it came to bringing the break back. Mike made an effort to get across, but got chased. As the pace surged and slowed heading towards Schwendt the second time, I attacked and got
clear with a couple guys and Mike bridged up at the top of the hill. Unfortunately we had an Italian in the group who stopped working pretty quickly so I let a gap open and Mike rolled up the road. The Italian and I were caught after a little bit and a few more guys bridged to Mike. At that point I sat on thinking there were only two groups up the road, the group that went clear on the first lap and
Mike's group. Evidently not per the results. On the last lap I did little to nothing, letting everybody else cover the attacks. Going into the closing 10km, I stayed patient and waited until there was a lull just before the 2km to go sign. I jumped from the back of the group and made it up the right side before the opening disappeared and didn't look back. Great move, I finally raced decently from my group, unfortunately, there were a total of 27 riders already across the line. Mike's group made it within 30 seconds of the leaders before the Italians stopped working, much like my experience last year. I stuck around for results but headed out when I found out I was well outside the prizes. I am scribbling this standing in the vestibule of the train heading to Munich. As usual it is full and there is no
where for the bike box except for close to the door. I thought about heading to Garmisch tomorrow, but I am not sure I am up for the travel, just to see another pretty mountain town. I am pretty tired at this point, nothing like the let down feeling you get at the end of a long season, with so much build up to a set of races. It has been agood season personally and for the team. We have had some good racesand some strong results. What next?

In Munich, I did a lot of wandering around, venturing from the Marienplatz to the far side of the lake in the Englisher Garten for a beer at the beer garden before wandering back through the park. I hadn't been to the top of the Frauenkirche in a bunch of years and it was clear out so I broke out the old student ID and got my discounted entry. It also worked the next day when I met Mike, Nancy, and Samantha at the zoo. Mike Olheiser and his brother were in Munich for the day prior to the flight out, so we met for some beers and fine German cuisine and one last hurrah before heading to the airport for another long day of travel.

Unfortunately I got sick on the way home and the combination of jet lag and a head cold didn't make for a comfortable homecoming. Fortunately I don't have a job anymore, so I had plenty of time to kick back and recover, spending as much time on the couch as needed. The last couple of weeks since getting back have been pretty productive with the job searching, the hanging out, the working on the backyard. I'll quit being a slacker and get back to the regular blog posting . . .