Visiting Aunt Jean

A stroke landed Aunt Jean in the hospital.
I was headed to the criterium at the Redlands Bicycle Classic when I got the call: Aunt Jean had suffered a stroke. Bridget was the one who broke the news to me. Obviously, it was very upsetting since this was at least the third time I was delivered bad news about a family member's health while working in California.

The day after returning from the race, the girls and I headed up to the hospital to visit her. Her speech has been significantly affected, but she was very pleased to see the girls and me. The girls also made "get well" cards for her (pictured at right).

On our way out, the girls took a moment to check out the player piano in the lobby. Some of their expressions are a bit strange...

Redlands Bicycle Classic: A Look Back

One of my favorite images from the race:
The warm glow of the sunset as Ben Day relishes his overall victory.
The scene was reminiscent of my other trip to the Redlands Bicycle Classic in 2008. That year, I was working for Rock Racing – which won the overall title. This spring, I was back in Redlands, Calif., to handle media relations for Fly V Australia. And once again, I was helping the winning team celebrate a victory in one of the prime stage races on the National Racing Calendar.

Here are a few of my favorite photos (not shared in previous posts about this race):

All the electronics on the folder are mine. Lots of tools of the trade.
My Blackberry Pearl (lower right) took a spill on the last day of the race and had to be replaced.

Ever wonder how shots like this are achieved?
I learned how it's done from mechanic Chris Davidson.

Helping Davidson adjust one of the De Rosas before the criterium.

Believe it or not, this is Ben Day before the criterium.

The team meeting before the final stage.

The "numbers to watch" of other contenders.

One of the prizes to the overall winner: a custom painting.

Photographer Michael Crook was my chauffeur to the airport.

Catching Up With Friends

The first race of the season provides the opportunity to catch up with my friends and colleagues on the pro cycling circuit - some of whom I have not seen since the Tour of Missouri. Many of them ask how my daughters are doing, which is very thoughtful of kind of them. I was able to say, "great" this week because I just spent last weekend with them.

Because time is short, here's a few highlights from my day Friday – Stage 1 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic.

One of the girls's all-time favorites, Ivan Dominguez.

Plenty of press is here (and I know nearly all of them).

Reed McCalvin is working for Trek-Livestrong this year.

I hadn't seen this done before. Gels attached to bottles.

Same red, black and white colors - just a different team.

Finally, can you spot which "Daily Distraction" I shot for Pezcycling News this month?

Back In California

Host housing in Redlands, Calif., is first class.
So I'm back in California for the third time this year. This time, it's for the 26th annual Redlands Bicycle Classic. The four-day stage race is one of the longest-running events on the National Racing Calendar.

This is my third time at this race. In 2008, I was here with Rock Racing (which won the race overall). Last year, it was Team Type 1. This year, Fly V Australia.

On the flight out of Omaha, I was nearly bumped. But flying through Phoenix had its benefits, as a snowstorm in Denver all but shuttered that airport and stranded travelers nationwide. Surprisingly, when I boarded my flight to Ontario, Calif., (not Ontario, Canada) the plane was nearly empty.

The other interesting aspect of my travel Wednesday was running into the Azusa Pacific basketball team. Coincidentally, I had watched highlights of the NAIA school losing by one point (the potential game-winning basket was waved off) to Dallas Baptist.

The airport in Ontario, Calif. seemed strangely empty.

Back To The Future In The Old Market

Friday night, we watched "Back to the Future," which is one of the girls' favorite movies (along with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the newer "Star Wars" trilogy.

So when we were driving through the Old Market on Saturday night, an empty lot that will be the future home of a Downtown Omaha hotel caught everyone's attention. This down-trodden piece of property – a huge hole in the ground surrounded by concrete barriers and a fence – reminded us of a particular scene in "Back to the Future."

Here's the background to bring you up to speed:


Marty returns to 1955 to find his neighborhood looks like this...

...instead of the way he's used to it being in 1985.
So, in the spirit of capturing progress and the transition from abandoned lot to multi-story hotel, we returned to the "Future Site of Residence Inn by Marriott" to capture the "before" photo. (Lauren and Olivia opted not to be a part of it.)


We'll be sure and take another photo when it's finished.  

View more of our "Back to the Future" photos through the years by searching our blog. (Scroll down to see them all.)

Brackets And Basketball

The girls are having a "ball" with their brackets this year.
The YD tradition of filling out NCAA Tournament brackets began March 20, 2008. Since then, it has blossomed into a heated (but fun) competition that has the girls watching a lot of hoops and checking their picks.

On opening weekend, the girls huddled several times to go through the winners and losers. Correct picks (Sean would say, "If you picked Northern Iowa, circle Northern Iowa.") were cheered loudly. Losses ("If you picked Kansas, cross out Kansas.") were greeted with groans and boos

Before we get to the standings heading into Sweet 16 games, here's how things shook out in the end last year. And here is how the brackets shaped up last year after first-round games. If you don't want to follow the links, here's all you need to know: Veronica won last year – at the age of three-and-a-half. Oh, and did we mention she also won the first year, too?

So who's leading after the first and second-round games? Veronica, of course. A year older, a year wiser. She picked upsets such as St. Mary's, Cornell and Old Dominion on the way to a family best 25-of-32 correct choices in the first round.

Here's a look at how everyone did in first-round games:

Veronica: 25/32
Julia: 22/32
Lauren: 21/32
Sean: 20/32
Olivia: 18/32
Emily: 18/32

So, by using the point system we put into place last year, here are the standings heading into this week's Sweet 16 contests:

Veronica: 43
Sean: 38
Julia: 36
Lauren: 33
Olivia: 32
Emily: 30

How does it look for Veronica in the long term? Well, two of her Final Four teams are already out. Here are everyone's picks for the Final Four:

Veronica: Tennessee, Brigham Young, Wisconsin, Baylor.
Sean: Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Duke.
Julia: Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Duke.
Lauren: U.C. Santa Barbara, Minnesota, Temple, St. Mary's.
Olivia: Michigan State, Vermont, Kentucky, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Emily: Kansas, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Duke.

Emily Reaches Teendom

Some of the girls thought the "m" looked more like an "h."
For someone who's been confusing servers by ordering off the children's (12-and-under) menu, Emily is probably not very anxious to turn 13. But that's what she did earlier this month and today we celebrated her official transition into her "teen years."

Here's a look, in pictures, at how the party shook out.

The balloons made for a pretty fun game of "keep 'em up in the air."

Grandpa and grandma Weide were in attendance.

Everyone's plastic cup was dutifully marked.

Lauren did a spectacular job of decorating.

Emily, with one of her typical faces when Sean takes photos.

Veronica helped with the cookies.

Olivia spent a week making this "E.R.W." poster.

Veronica used part of Emily's present as wardrobe.

Emily models the robe that Olivia bought her.

Get Well Soon, Aunt Jean

Visiting Aunt Jean following her surgery at Bergan Mercy Hospital.

Fly V Australia Training Camp

The boys from Fly V Australia, on the road near Malibu, Calif.
So I had a serious case of deja vu going this month, returning to California – Agoura Hills, no less – for my second professional cycling team training camp of the year. This time, it was with the Fly V Australia team.

Ed Beamon, who managed Team Type 1 in 2008, is the team's technical director. My role was to perform some media training, manage a media day and assist with the team's presentation, which took place at a posh hotel in Beverly Hills. The camp went well. Here are some of the highlights, in photos, of my five days on-site.

My room at the Renaissance – same hotel as the BMC Racing Team's training camp. (Little did I know we would be back here in May at the Amgen Tour of California.)

Ed Beamon supervised all the team's training rides.


Ivan Dominguez, now with the Jamis-Sutter home squad, showed up for one of the rides. The license plate on his car reads, "1K 2 GO"

Self-portrait during one of the training rides.

A lifeguard tower straight out of "Baywatch."

Team Owner Chris White was the subject of a front-of-the-sports page story in the Los Angeles Daily News.

The roof-top pool adjacent to the ballroom where the team presentation was held.

Jerseys for autograph signing after a training ride.

The Velo Pasadena bicycle shop hosted a "Ride with the Pros" event.

My final day in California didn't feature the best weather. But it was still better than the weather in Nebraska.

There was a huge turnout for the training ride from Pasadena to Big Bear.

Coaching Basketball

The St. Mary's 3rd/4th grade girls basketball team, 2009-10.
This photo about sums up the season for my stint (with Neil) as assistant coach of the third and fourth grade girls basketball team. You can see just how serious some girls took the sport. We gracefully bowed out of the tournament in the first round.

After scoring two baskets in her first game of the year, Julia wasn't quite the scoring machine in the second half of the season. But there's always next year...

TD Ameritrade Park Takes Shape

Driving by the new TD Ameritrade Park on my way to Eppley.

It seems really close to the street.

Clearing The Deck

The drift gradually shrunk in size as the weather warmed.
So that big snow drift – which once stood as high as five feet on my deck – was down to just a block of ice on this first day of March. So the girls took it upon themselves to "clear the deck" and get the slab of ice off the patio. It was a tough task, but they completed it with flying colors.

Chipping away at the ice block...

...before tossing it off the deck to the ground below.