The Canadian Military.

Trains and other modes of transportation during the school year for me means one thing: nap time. So I'm asleep on the train today, and within my dream, the train conductor says, the train's stopped right now because the army is about to come board it. Within the confines of the dream, I accept it to be true.

And then I wake up: and it's true. Not just the army, but the CANADIAN one. Turns out, that most of the railways and Amtrak is owned by Canada. The signal post read the train as going one speed, and the train's odometer read something else, so the Canadian officials stopped the train in order to be able to come on board and download data from the engine car. The train was basically getting a speeding ticket. WHAT. And I got into Chicago 2 hours late ...

Met up with Theron at the train station !!!

Anyways, stopped by at 4240 Architecture to drop off their goods. Everyone seemed busy as always, but also quite happy to see me.

Chris at Turin is amazingly kind !!! He explained that there wasn't going to be enough sponsorship money, but that he was entirely willing to give me the initial measurements for the new bike, and also to fit it professionally once it got here. He even gave me some advice on the hydration pack - he said NOT to go with Camelbak, which surprised me, since no one ever talks about any other kind of hydration packs. Apparently, the bladder makes all the difference. The plastic in Deuter is much smoother than the plastic in Camelbak bladders, and subsequently collect less microbial matter. The bag is also designed to sit off of your back to circulate air better. I'll probably look into getting one of those ...

Anyways, I realized that the first race (Ohio) is actually in 2 weeks, and I haven't done ANY hills training. IE, Ohio is going to kick my thighs hard. Too bad I'm not going to have the new bike yet. I could use any help I can ...

And with school, it's been hard to be able to get in long rides. I'll pick up my balaclava now that I'm in Chicago, and hopefully I'll fit some in. I miss the Homer Lake route. That's a nice 40 mile ride.

Cheers, folks.