Arrivee

My trip to our host housing in Wisconsin was nice and smooth.  I slept through half of the flight, brought plenty of water with me, and was not within earshot of any screaming babies on the aeroplane.  The only hitch came at baggage claim.  You see, fellow JeffCup qualifier Lindsay Bayer was set to arrive 5 minutes after me in the same terminal, so I hung out and tried to make a rendezvous by taking the long way to the baggage claim area. By the time I got to baggage claim, my flight had been loaded onto the roundabout belts and only 3 bags were left: one belonging to myself and the other two to fellow stragglers.  I then waited patiently for my bike bag to be brought to the door where they place the oversized luggage.

And waited.  And waited.  A whole new flight had been loaded and picked up from the same baggage carousel, so I went to talk to the baggage claim service desk.  The helpful folks there got me the information I needed, but only after a nervous 30 minutes of investigation.  Much to my relief, they were able to track my bag.  Much to my amusement, the bag was still sitting behind the check-in counter back at BWI-Baltimore.

90 minutes in a van later, 7 Nature Valley Pro Chase/Collegiate All Stars athletes (including myself) arrived in Amery, Wisconsin at Jay and Sue's house (sorry, I forgot their last name at the moment).  Jay and Sue are our 'host parents', opening their house to a group of around 20 bike racers and staff.  They have an awesome AWESOME house, and they are an awesome couple.  So far, Jay and I have exchanged some of our best stories of dumb stuff we've done while drinking too many beers, and Sue taught me how to play shuffleboard and where to find decaf coffee beans.

More to come...