Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved. - Victor Hugo

This past couple of weeks have been a bunch of ups and downs…

The most important event was Amanda’s and Matt’s wedding. She is a beautiful bride, and I am happy to call Matt my son-in-law. The wedding was well-planned, and everything was fantastic. I think the biggest thing for me was the smile on my daughter’s face.

They make an awesome-looking couple, don’t they? I am looking forward to getting the pics from Matt’s dad and the photographer Amanda and Matt hired.

We started the day with a 3 1/2 hour ride. Leaving the hotel in Frisco, we rode out to the north, then over through McKinney. We did pretty well for most of the ride, but the wind and heat kicked in when we were still about 30 minutes from finishing up. We ended up stopping at a convenience store for cold water and ice - I must admit, it felt pretty good dumping some of that ice down my tuxedo jersey.

The middle of July, I rode the Katy Flatland century for the 4^th time. This is a fairly flat ride (actually, REALLY flat other than an overpass over Interstate-10 at Sealy!) The ride went really well, until mile 87. We stopped at the aid station, and sitting next to the bikes, we heard a loud noise. I thought the woman who had just gotten off her bike had banged her helmet against the railing we were leaning against, but as we were starting to roll out of the aid stop, I realized my rear wheel was binding up. Once I got off and looked, I realized the noise we had heard was actually a spoke on my race wheel popping. Fortunately, there was a mechanic from the bike shop sponsoring the ride. I walked the bike back to the mechanic to see if they thought I could finish the last 13-14 miles on the wheel. After the mechanics both said they thought I would ruin the rim, my thought was to ride back to the ride start and get the spare wheel out of my truck. Jarrod questioned whether the mechanics had a wheel I could rent – great thought! They did indeed have a wheel, and once I made sure I had time to finish the remaining miles and get back to them in the truck, the mechanic switched my cassette to the spare wheel, and we were off. We finished the ride without any further incident, and once we ate at the finish, I drove out and exchanged the loaner for my race wheel. I really appreciate the effort of the mechanics who support these many rides. This was the second time I needed a mechanic, and on both occasions I have been extremely happy with the service.

The training for Ironman Arizona continues. The city’s pool at Clay Madsen Recreation Center was closed for about a week and a half, so we all had to find other options. I did one swim at Lake Pflugerville, and it was a nasty swim… the water was like swimming in a bathtub, and there was a lot of grass and weeds you had to swim through – a really unpleasant swim. I tried the pool in Pflugerville, but the swim ended early when a little kid apparently had an accident after eating too closely to getting into the water. The lifeguards cleared the pool so they could shock the pool, and I didn’t want to sit around for another 30-45 minutes. I swam the other day at Barton Springs. The water there is clear, as it is in fact fed by underground springs. It is also a bit on the chilly side, so it is a great opportunity to get the wetsuit out. After all, the water at Tempe is going to be cold. I want to take the video camera and get some footage of the springs underwater.

This weekend I am supposed to ride with Jeff and Jarrod for our century #8 for 2012. It will either be really hot, or it will be humid… we actually have rain in the forecast. We’ll see…

Looks like a job change in the near future. Heck, I even got an email about a position in Alaska. Yeah, even at $100+ an hour, they still don’t have a lot of opportunities to train or ride. Think I will stay here in Texas. And in the heat. Thanks, anyway.

Do It Like It Means Something is now an official Fiscal Sponsor for the HEART: Flatline To Finish Line documentary! So - now we can accept tax-deductible donations toward the support of the film, and our non-profit will get a small percentage for handling this process. A win-win-win, for us, the documentary AND the donors!

Less than 100 days to IMAZ!