Vegas.. then East bound

Cirque de solei. Vegas

Brian, I and Brandyn.

Max and my trip started with a speeding ticket 20 miles east Of Gunni. Its still sitting on the dashboard, I know I have to suck it up and pay it, but have been procrastinating.
We drove East, stopping in Boulder on route to hwy 80 and Chicago, and meeting Brian. Nebraska/Iowa/ Illinois.. quite pretty, spring and green... and it was a long way!

Post Chicago we drove to Battle creek Michigan for the Midwest championship Xterra. Fast, fun, flatter trails made for a great triathlon. Nice swim, fast bike, enjoyable run. Race morning we where met with 30 degree temps and ice.. but race conditions where basically perfect. I rode into 2nd and finished 5th. Brian ran into 7th.
Solid races. The Xterra competition on the US scene this year is awesome. Top 5 in Michigan all finished top 6 at Worlds last year.
We stayed with Andrea and Brett in Michigan, and their two husky dogs. Great hosts and a really neat couple.
Post race Brian and I visited Ann Arbor for a day, it was really fun, student town, stayed next to a Trader Joes ( made me very happy) and we went downtown Monday evening to Arbor Brewing company ( made Brian very happy). Was a good time, lively town, relaxed.
Tuesday was another story. I dropped Brian in Detriot and drove all day through Ohio/Kentucky/Tennessee untill 11pm that night. Ugh.

Big Bone state park, Kentucky.. recovery day..staying in one piece.
Wednesday saw Max and I arriving in Alabama to Oak mountain. Love it here. Great venue and state park. To say I was wrecked is an understatement, couldn't ride my bike on the trails.. too much effort!
I met my host family for the weekend Jenny, Corbin, Cassie and Gauge. A good nights sleep and a new person with my name emerged on Thursday.
The Southeast Xterra was held yesterday and I had a solid race to finish 6th. I had good legs a good bike and improved run.
Xterra's are tough, today I am once again wrecked! So heading East toward Atlanta and north to visit Brian's sister in Gastonia, North Carolina. Next up is the ACE off road triathlon West Virginia this weekend. Apparently its quite the party. 1 1/2 miles downriver swim/ 7 mile run/ and 12 mile bike. Kristi of Dirtbean and I are going to camp and experience some West Virginia racing scene. I can't wait it has been a long time since I've raced in WV.
What a good life! Brian is in Gunnison, racing the Sage burner 25k trail race yesterday, which he won, and the half growler MTB race today. He was 2nd on his single speed.