It was Wednesday, April 23, and everything went smoothly that morning until we had to switch...
Getting ready (Image credit: Mike Rick)
It was Wednesday, April 23, and everything went smoothly that morning until we had to switch flights. Although we had a nonstop flight, we had to deplane and replane in Atlanta before the plane even moved...nice.
We arrived about an hour late into San Diego and the Vassago guys were there waiting. We drove around for awhile collecting some odds and ends and then someone mentioned beer. One of the greatest breweries ever, Stone Brewing Co. is located in Escondido, California. Being that we are all connoisseurs of adult beverages, we absolutely had to go.
Vassago treated us to a growler of Arrogant Bastard Oaked Ale to take with us to our hotel room in Temecula since they were dropping us off with no car. No worries, we now had lots of beer and two bikes to get around!
On Thursday, April 24, we pre-rode the race course with Eddie's local friend Orion. The temperature on the completely sun-exposed course was perfect for the pre-ride but we knew it would rise 20 degrees in the next two days. After the ride we noticed that Namrita's brand new fork was spewing oil. Uh oh!
A few hours later, we received notice that Vassago had located a replacement White Brothers fork for Namrita. Phew...thanks guys! But wait...we then found out that the UPS box with Eddie's front wheel, our sports nutrition products including the essential Saltstick tabs, extra drivetrain parts, Hayes brake pads, Eggbeater pedals, extra WTB tires, and more was officially lost. This was not good news to receive with only one day left before the race!
