On My Way Home

Goodbye, Richmond. It has been short and sweet – and successful.

World Champions – Again

Backstage before receiving their gold medals, I snapped this photo for Twitter.

A year ago, I was driving through Western Nebraska when the BMC Racing Team won the world team time trial championships in Ponferrada, Spain.

This year, I was actually on-site in Richmond, Virginia, to watch the "sweet repeat" (as I headlined it on Facebook). Yes, "They Did It! Again!" (as mentioned on Twitter) made for a nice trip.

There was all kinds of chaos in the celebration - and none of it was seen on TV.

Welcome To The Worlds: Richmond 2015

There was a decent crowd at the start of the women's team time trial.

I am back at the world road championships – for the first time since 1986, when Colorado Springs hosted the event. Back then, the track and the road championships were combined. There was no individual time trial (though there was a 100-kilometer team time trial, apparently) so I only attend the final day of racing at the U.S. Air Force Academy grounds.

Today, I was at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond for the start of the team time trial. When I arrived, the women were starting. The men's teams will be starting for about two hours, which means the wind could be a factor. There is already a nice crowd here. Contrast that with about an estimated 15,000 fans who watched the men's elite road race on Labor Day weekend 29 years ago.

And there they go!

Cold and Wet In Canada

This was not exactly a pleasant experience in Montreal.

Close Call

I posted this to my Twitter account a few minutes after returning to the motorcoach.

We knew it was going to rain – actually storm – hard near the end of tonight's stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in Salt Lake City.

What we did not know was that the rain would hold off until after the race, which was great for the riders. But in the end, it was equally as dangerous for the people who stuck around for the awards ceremony.

Just as the podium ceremonies were getting going, a huge guest of wind rose up. One worker scrambled to get the photo-finish equipment taken down from the truss. He happened to catch my eye as they were starting to make a jersey presentation on stage. Just then, I saw the truss start leaning my way – with the worker still on a ladder near the top. I immediately pulled at the photographer sitting to my left and yelled at him and another guy next to him to "Move! Move!"

The truss gave way and came crashing down, narrowly missing me and the guy I pulled to safety by mere inches. But the photographer sitting farther to my left was not as lucky. He was crushed by the framework (along with my backpack).

People scrambled immediately to help. I yelled to people around me that someone was underneath the truss and we needed to lift it up. Apparently, more than one person was trapped and we needed to get them out and evaluated before the heart of the storm struck. By the time they were rescued (along with my backpack), it was starting to rain.

I rode my BMC down to the motorcoach and strapped it on the Thule rack just before it started pouring. And what a storm it was. Wow, sheets of rain.

These helmets were attached to my backpack, which was crushed by the fallen truss.

Two Stage Wins In Italy

Posing with the stage winner prizes of the Giro d'Italia. Both courtesy of Philippe Gilbert!

On My Way To Italy

This outdoor deck of the Delta lounge at JFK was amazing.

Checking In With The Jays

This was fun. I tried to do it a couple times. I'm the one in Paris.

Paris-Nice

Philippe Gilbert was in the king of the mountains jersey today.

Seventh Floor View

My view from the seventh floor of the Sheraton in Doha.

And the night-time view is equally as picturesque.

From Valencia To Paris

The line at security was long in Valencia – as always.

Arrival in Paris. This was moments before I found out my luggage was already on its way to Dubai.

Thank goodness the airport hotel had one of these.

A bit out of sequence. But a nice photo before my departure from Spain.

This was my room at the Ibis hotel.

That big wall with the door is the bathroom.

And here's a look inside.

Really nice – and clean – compared to some airport hotels.

I woke up early Monday morning to find out who won the Super Bowl. The BBC had a photo of it.

Yep, I'm in France now.

The razor and shaving creme I sprung for in the vending machine.

On My Way To Dubai

This will be a quick post with no photos because I am getting ready to board my flight to Dubai in Paris.

Things were seemingly going well in Valencia Sunday, early evening. I enjoyed Sky Priority status in getting my bag checked for the flight to Paris. But what I wasn't told was that my suitcase was being checked straight through to Dubai.

So when I got off the plane and waited for my luggage, I was left waiting. A check at the Air France desk told me my bag was already on its way to Dubai. Ugh.

I made it to my hotel just fine, but with no change of clothes or anything but my backpack, it was a bit depressing. Like really depressing.

So I awoke this morning, showered, and put my (stinky) lululemon clothing back on. It's going to be quite a day since I don't arrive in Dubai until midnight. And one other issue: I don't have my visa. Supposedly, it will be there – handled by the race organization – when I arrive. I sure hope so!

Heading Back To Spain

This scene in Atlanta reminded me of the "Up in the Air" promo photo.

There is nothing "typical" about travel to Europe. But my trip Wednesday into Thursday was pretty smooth.

My new backpack was ready.

I was able to enjoy first class travel on my flight to Atlanta. There, I enjoyed some time in the Delta lounge, something now permitted when traveling on an international ticket. I made a good decision to eat before the flight, as it turned out to be an Air France flight for the trip over the pond. That means three things: no "economy comfort" seating in the first four rows of economy, meals that are not as good as on a Delta flight and a movie/music selection that is not as extensive.

I did enjoy the company of a gentlemen from Annapolis – Mitul – who was on his way to India. A self-proclaimed "idea guy," we had some very interesting conversations. I'm going to keep in touch. And if you see a bike race taking place on the deck of an aircraft carrier or a barge or other large boat, that was originally his idea...

On to the photos:

I ate here last month before my trip to Spain. Couldn't pass it up this time.

Mitul and I posed by this athletic "teamwork" photo at Charles De Galle airport.

It was a very cold morning in Paris. The jetway was absolutely frigid.

The Drive Home

Lauren left this note for the housekeeping crew at the Fairfield Inn.

We didn't hit the pool at the Fairfield Inn before checking out – as originally planned – mostly because they did not have a hot tub. But we did enjoy a really nice breakfast and Lauren made sure I kept moving so we got out of town at a decent time (about 9 a.m.).

On the way out the door, Lauren and I stopped off at the vending machine, which featured some unusual items. Very unusual items. Like a cheeseburger!

The going was pretty slow on the interstate in the first hour, with blowing snow and lots of ice. But once we got a bit farther south, we were able to get back up to the speed limit. We also did an "Uncle Bill" and ran the van down to near empty before fueling up in Council Bluffs.

There were also sausage, egg and cheese muffins in the vending machine!

The price of gas was about 10 cents cheaper in Minneapolis.

It was pretty sketchy driving the first hour of the trip.

We stopped at Boondocks – just like on the first trip to the Shriner's Hospital.

Lauren enjoyed a nice piece of lemon pie.

What A Day To Be Driving!

This is what it looked like as we were leaving the Shriner's Hospital.

Lauren likes the snow. I don't mind it. But driving in it today was more than challenging. It was a bit white-knuckle at times, very slow going and generally a big adventure.

Blowing snow and 40-50 mph winds created white-out conditions – even in town. The snow was falling so fast, the plows could not keep up, especially in the in-town areas. More than 650 traffic accidents were reported statewide and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote: "By evening, motorists were mired in gridlock, with evening commutes taking twice, sometimes three times longer than usual." We can certainly attest to that. On the way home from our dinner at Pizza Luce in the Uptown district with my friend Melissa German, we were traveling at five miles an hour most of the time.

We stopped to put air in the van's tires. This is all you could see of me out the window.

The purple lines are roads that were not recommended for travel.

The temperature might have said four degrees, but the wind chill was -25.

This is pretty much what our drive looked like all day.

The Final Visit

Score! Lauren's friend, Dedra, made sure she went home with the best prize from the closet.

It was with mixed feelings that we learned today's visit to the Shriner's Hospital will be Lauren's last as a patient.

On one hand, it is amazing to see the progress she has made over the years thanks to the help of many professionals there. Not to mention the friends and wonderful memories gained on the drives (and one flight) to and from Minneapolis. From Dr. Guidera to Dedra to one of our original drivers from the Tangier Shrine Temple, "Oley."

Lauren and Dedra, back in 2007.

Dr. Luedtke checked Lauren over, telling her that she has pretty much stopped growing and that her scoliosis has cleared up. She reminded her to continue to do stretching exercises and to create a good foundation for a healthy lifestyle as her bones continue to develop.

The visit was probably the shortest of all time and we marveled at the fact that the lobby was completely empty the entire time we were there. We made sure to stop in and see Dedra and Tim and Lauren found one more prize in the prize chest on the way out the door.

If all goes to plan, we hope to make another trip up to Minneapolis this summer to look at the campus at the University of Minnesota. Lauren just might feel right at home there, too.

(See more from Lauren's past hospital visits here, here, here and here.)

Lauren (wearing her Shriner's Hospital shirt, as usual), posed with Dedra and Tim.

Lauren even brought shorts along for her "walking exam," which she didn't have to do.

There was the usual checking for flexibility. We have lots of pictures of this over the years.

Dr. Luedtke gave Lauren some good advice before sending her off for the last time.

We saw Dr. Guidera! Well, at least his photo in the lobby.

There would be no playing on the playground on this day.

One more look at the prizes on the way out the door...

We exited the parking garage into the midst of a blizzard.