Before hitting the road for another Scamp-venture, Jay took me out to Hell's Kitchen to catch Adler's Appetite, Steven Adler of GNR's new band playing the full Appetite for Destruction song list as well as some new tunes. After watching Steven's benders on my sinful "Celebrity Rehab" slumming I did one season, it was funny to watch him live. I don't know what the program was, but he was on some Happy pills for sure, smiling away like a church camp counselor behind the drums as the rest of the band tried to look 'cool'. None the less, it was a sweet venue and a fun show - thanks Randy & Kendra for gettin' us out!!!
Saturday morning came early, though, and we loaded up the car & Scamp in a sleepy fog, just hoping we hadn't forgotten something important for the latest weekend Scamp-venture. We headed out to St Peter for the State Time Trial Championships and, for the first time in years, it was HOT and sunny, with temps in the 80's and humidity on the rise.
A Houdini-ish wind played tricks on us by staying away from the parking lot we congregated in, yet appearing on the course as a headwind that you weren't sure was there. The wind was so deceivingly strong that my return was 5 min. faster than the way out! Top that off with getting stung in the ear by a bee (plus finding a way to get it out of my aero helmet w/o skipping a beat) plus a leg cramp 6 miles from the finish, and you can imagine how happy I was with my time. It was my 2nd fastest time there ever, but it still wasn't a PR... nuff said.
My lovely & talented husband, on the other hand, had one of his fastest times EVER, winning the 40+ State Champion title! He's riding so amazingly well this year, it's wonderful to watch. He did the full 25 mi (40K) TT in only 54:41!! I am so proud of you baby!!!
With Jay elated & me still licking my wounds, we loaded up the bikes and kept the train moving on to Mankato for some quality time with the Scamp and a Sunday mountain bike race. The heat was intense and we were exhausted so, when we arrived at Mt. Kato, Jay pulled the lil Scamp under a shady grove of trees and we lazily worked on some remodeling projects as the puppy wandered around and chased butterflies.
Three mountain bikes, two TT bikes, and a pair of trainers and spare race wheels....Nice pack job, Hollywood!!!
I had ripped out the 1960's yellow carpet a few nites prior, so Jay used it as a stencil as he installed our awesome new, black carpet. A little later in the day, we saddled up and took a loop of the course to prep for Sunday and try to spin out the legs a bit. Even Smokey joined in the action!!
The sun dipped low and the lightning bugs came out to greet us later that evening. We sat around a 'table' Jay built out of a bike box (for Sophie's bitchin' new TOMAC FLINT 29'er!!! -waaaahh!) and enjoyed dinner and beers with Caveman and his boys, and made new friends with Dana & Eric & their dog, McKinley. It was a perfect evening for camping with temps in the 60's, we left the windows open, and fell asleep to the sounds of crickets chirping away. We slept until the sun work us the next morning and lounged comfortably under our canopy of trees as the racers gathered and the heat climbed back into the 80's.
I pride myself on my 2nd-day racing legs, but this weekend just wasn't my weekend. Saturday's hard effort and leg cramps coupled with Sunday's heat and humidity turned out to be my kryptonite. From the get-go, my legs refused to cooperate and, as the sun beat down on the hillside, it became impossible to keep myself hydrated. During my 3rd lap, the goosebumps came out, the sweating stopped, and I started losing the ability to control my bike... so I reluctantly pulled myself out of the race. It was one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make, but i knew my health and safety was more important than riding 4 more miles of trail.
Even though the weekend's high temps had their way with me on the bike, it was still one of the best ever. It was so absolutely wonderful camping with my family this weekend, that I cannot wait to do it again. How did we go this long without a Scamp before?!
Jay, I love how you love to go on adventures with me!
Road-worn and cheery,
Kristy Kreme
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