Cyclocross Nationals: The First Day

We took our officials crew picture before we left the hotel.
Verona, Wis. – Another quick entry, as the long days of officiating simply clash with my ability to get client work done.

So, in no particular order, here are the highlights (and lowlights) of the opening day of the USA Cycling national cyclocross championships:

- I broke the bell (the clapper flew off in mid-ring), which required an in-race fix-it job (photo at right.

- The venue is a park somewhere near our hotel. I'm not sure how far it is because (like all officiating crews do) we stopped for coffee on the way there.

- Parking is $5 or $15 for the duration of the event. No admission is charged. Team space is $200.

- It was cold in the morning when we first arrived, but warmed up nicely. But shortly after chief referee Carla Geyer shed one of her layers, the sun went behind the clouds, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped.

- The pizza parlor we drove to in Madison was nice. It made up for the lunch of a single bean burrito (with nothing to drink because the burrito was $6 - the entire value of our meal voucher).

- Simply sitting or standing outside for eight hours sure takes its toll. I felt like I had been through a 10-round prize fight when we got back to the hotel.

- There were tons of Post Grape-Nuts cereal boxes at the team hotel. And they were giving it out (with milk) in the food tent as part of the sponsorship deal. I wonder how long it'll be before we grow tired of hearing about it. It's really a natural sponsorship, as is UnitedHealthcare (though we're waiting to hear the extent of involvement on that one).

This photo was shot before we lifted the plastic windshield
on the judges tent. The lap counter and bell were my responsibility.

Ice had to chipped off the finishing straight.

Readying the finish line truss – which shows off the new
major sponsors of USA Cycling (unveiled this week).

Photo for Julia. That's ice melt in the portalet reservoir.

Distributing radios was our first task once on-site.

Tom Schuler (left), my former boss at Team Type 1, is the
event director. It's always great to work with him. I have him
to thank for introducing me to the BMC Racing Team.

Dave Fowkes and Carla Geyer at the rider staging.

And here's what staging looks like moments before the start.

This guy, in the last race of the day, and to run his bike
the last kilometer or so after something on it broke.

A look at my paltry scoring sheet for the women's singlespeed.

Pizza for dinner. This wasn't mine. (I had pepperoni.)

On The Way To Milwaukee

A tram goes between terminals at the aiport in Minneapolis.
Milwaukee, Wis. - My first trip to Wisconsin since 2003 promises to be a busy one. It's always a rush to get to the airport (no, I don't arrive two hours early) and I usually find myself scrambling to get everything packed. Deciding what to take for what essentially amounts to a two-and-a-half day trip can be tough. And the other consideration is Northwest's $15-per-bag charge - meaning that I have to have room to pack my "sleep machine" in my suitcase on both ends of the flight.

In the interest of saving time, here is Tuesday in pictures (and some words):
A bird's eye view of some of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes.

The plane's shadow is cast on an enormous cloud bank.
I really thought this was a cool part of the flight between Minneapolis and Milwaukee. As we neared Milwaukee, we began traveling over a massive cloud ceiling. It was almost as if we were traveling over a floor or platform of clouds. What was even cooler was the fact that it was brightly lit by the sun - and knowing that everyone beneath the clouds was not seeing the same late-afternoon sunshine.

What is also bizarre is the little ring around the plane (click on the photo to enlarge it). It's almost as if we were in the "sights" of something larger. Weird. When we finally descended through the cloud ceiling (which was probably about 1,500 or 2,000 feet) it wasn't as bumpy as I would have imagined.

The team trucks for Timex (left) and Team Type 1 outside Team Sports.

Inside, a giant poster of the old Saturn Cycling Team
(that's Harm Jansen leading).

Girls, you remember Tom Schuler (from my conference calls).
Here, he poses with "Mr. Twinkie" - another star of the calls.

A photo of the Tour of Americas, featuring Schuler (looking down at left).

Marco (left) and Matt eat wings at a smoky little tavern.
Boy, I love wings! Not. So when I heard we were going to a place that "has the best wings in Milwaukee," you might as well told me we were going for Chinese or Indian. But I toughed it out. Unfortunately, this little place was crowded as heck and we stood for an hour before we got a table.

Then, the smoke started driving me crazy. But I did try some of the "naked" wings that weren't so spicy. Thankfully, Matt Vogels ordered a chicken sandwich - which cleared the way for me to order one. I also helped myself to lots of free popcorn. Jen, our server, enjoyed a nice tip and was probably glad to see us leave after all of our special requests.

Check out all the clocks in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency.