London

Today marks my 8^th night in London and this is actually the 2^nd hour I have of “just sit” time since I’ve been here. I hate sitting in an empty hotel room so I have been on the go pretty much all the time, getting only about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. I am finally living the “normal” 25 year old lifestyle and I am EXHAUSTED. But I am happy to be making the most of my time in London. Most of that activity has been thanks to my wonderful friend Valerie who has let me join in on all her various activities. She and I used to work together at Deloitte, along with the other Hilton co-worker I have traveled here with (Brian) which is just kind of funny.

Thursday I arrived at the airport at 6:35am (1:35am ET) after leaving Austin around 11am ET the day before. I only slept about 2 hours on the plane which did not bode well for the day ahead. After making it through customs, I headed to the office for a full day of work. When I got back to the hotel around 7, I had just enough energy to find some food at a grab and go place in Trafalgar square and then proceeded to collapse into bed. Unfortunately, I think the time change & the IV of coffee I consumed completely messed with my system & I woke up at 12:30am and didn’t fall back asleep til around 4:30am. I even did a workout at 2:30am in the hotel gym (I know, I know, crazy). Luckily after that I adjusted to the time change pretty well.

Friday was another day at work then Brian and I met up with Valerie for dinner at a fancy French steak and frites place. The place is a set menu and does two plates of steak and fries. It was delicious and great to catch up.

Saturday Val and I met up with her friend Susan and Susan’s 2 year old son Alex for a run. Val took me past all the big sights near my hotel including Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Big Ben, the London Eye, and the river. It was a great route. Afterwards, Val ran home while I grabbed lunch, checked out the Monet exhibit in the National Art Gallery, and then stumbled onto a Dutch pride festival in Trafalgar Square. Then it was my only hour of “down time” before heading off to meet Val and her work friends for a pub crawl. At the first pub, we ran into other Deloitte people from the Mclean office doing a global assignment, AK, Bill, and Steve. It was really great to see them. I worked with Bill for 3 weeks of my Deloitte career but they were three of the best weeks. They were talking about all the traveling they have been doing and it definitely made me a bit jealous.

The pub crawl lasted the rest of the evening. I headed home a little after 11 because I was joining Val and some more of her friends for a day trip to the Isle of Wight, an island off the Southern Coast of London. Here are some pictures from that trip. It was BEAUTIFUL. We rented bikes and then proceeded to get really lost, biking up a mountain rather than taking the easy route. It would have been fine except Susan’s husband Scott was hauling Alex in a trailer. Our “peaceful” 12 mile ride turned into a panicky sprint to get back to the bike shop before it closed almost 6 hours after we picked up the bike. All in all, it was a fun, but incredibly long day. We left at around 7:30am and got back at 10:30pm.

 On the ferry to the Isle

 Val discovering a bird just pooped on her face and Susan coming to the rescue with a wet wipe - notice the laughter in the background

 Alex after his dad biked through a puddle

 beautiful scenery

random Buckingham palace shot

 

This week I have gone out to two really nice dinners after work, gone to pub trivia with Val and her co-workers (don’t ask how our team did…), and then last night I went to see Wicked. I had never seen it before but I loved it. I have also fit in a couple of early morning runs around Buckingham palace and Hyde park. The weather has been pretty awful and ever changing - rain, drizzle, rain, peak of sunshine, rain, rain, hail, drizzle, sun, downpour, hail, drizzle, sun and a solid 45-55 degrees.

This weekend I think I am doing dinner tonight, the marathon race expo tomorrow morning, a tea in the afternoon, and then will be cheering on Val as she does the London Marathon Sunday morning. I am also hoping to fit in the Tower of London but we will see.

I am definitely enjoying my time here, but I am looking forward to reuniting with my couch, DVR, and family next weekend for a short 2 weeks. Like Dorothy said, there is no place like home.

Note: my training has not fit into my London lifestyle very well, the hotel gym is AWFUL. I have kept up on running but that's about it...oops.

Austin

Austin, TX

As I’m writing this, I am in the JFK airport waiting for my flight to London (although I won’t be posting it until I get the internet and pictures will come later). The last 5 days have been awesome and I really enjoyed Austin and am sad to leave with so many things left to do.

Saturday

Saturday got off to an early start. Our amazing friend Valerie picked me and Hillary up at 6:30am to take us to the airport. We got there in plenty of time and met up with Christy. The flights were quick and by 12:30, we were in Austin. Unfortunately for me, my phone was not. Somehow between Dallas and Austin I lost my phone. Luckily, I don’t have one of the fancy smartphones so it is not as big of a loss, but I won’t be able to deal with it until I get back at the end of the month.

After getting our rental car, we found the hotel (Embassy Suites Downtown/Town Lake). It was awesome and one of the best hotel experience’s I’ve had. The hotel had a free cook-to-order breakfast with omelettes, pancakes, bacon, sausage, hash browns, oatmeal etc. It also had a free happy hour each evening (yes, free food & alcoholic drinks). The staff was super friendly, especially the bus boy for the morning breakfast who got to know each of us as we came down separately (different morning schedules), giving us suggestions on things to do or asking about my bike ride, and finally putting the three of us together our last day. We had some random requests for the front desk & they made our life much easier. It was awesome getting all that for the employee rate, but I would definitely stay there in the future even if I had to pay full price.

After checking out the hotel, we went exploring and got some lunch at Halcyon, described by Frommer (my new bff) as having an ex-hippie vibe. After that we walked to the State Capital, and then I went to the bike shop to pick up my bike.

Once I got my bike and found out that store was going to be cancelled Sunday for Easter, I called Mellow Johnny’s (Lance Armstrong’s bike shop) to see if the ride I had planned on doing was still happening. It wasn’t. I then called another location for the bike shop I was renting from & asked if their ride was still happening despite the store being closed. It was 5pm and then guy’s response to my question was “whoooooa, I never even thought about that. That’s a good question. I’ve never had to deal with our Sunday ride conflicting with easter before” and then he proceeded to tell me it was doubtful.

So basically what that left me with was a rented bike but no group to ride with. I debated the rest of the evening if I should try to do a ride on my own and tried to figure out a backup plan.

Meanwhile, after enjoying the hotel’s complimentary happy hour (yes, free food & alcoholic drinks), we headed out for the evening, attempted to see a bunch of bats wake up & flee the bridge next to the hotel, and ended up at Chuggy Monkey’s which had live music & ESPN. We had fun chatting with some Australian’s on a tour of Europe and then called it an early night.

Sunday

I had a ton of trouble sleeping Saturday night because I kept trying to decide to ride or not. The final decision came after re-reading the initial e-mail I had received regarding the rides from the bike shops. The roadie (Daniel) had not only given me a link to a map of the stores ride, but he gave me turn by turn directions. After realizing it was really 4 turns, I decided to head out on my own. I was SO GLAD that I did. I went a bit north of downtown & was greeted with some AMAZING views. The route was super hilly, but the hills were long without being too steep. I didn’t have any issue getting up them & I saw about 50 other cyclists along the way so I never felt alone. I love that with the experience of bike and build behind me, I was able to explore a new area on my own & didn’t let fear hold me back. Don’t worry – I grabbed Christy’s phone so I could call them if I had any issues.

The rest of Sunday was spent exploring UT Austin & getting some awesome ice cream at Amy’s – a coldstone like shop with family appeal & cool tricks. We went to Oasis for dinner (out near where I biked) for some drinks & an amazing view of the sunset and then made it an early night.

Monday

Monday I woke up early (a continuing theme on my trip as I could never sleep until my alarm), and went for a run around Town Lake which was right next to the hotel. It was great seeing the early morning sun against the Austin skyline & I really enjoyed the run. My legs were killing me from all the biking/walking/running though.

After the run, we headed to San Antonio to see the Alamo & river walk. While I will always remember the Alamo, I wasn’t too impressed with San Antonio. I was happy to head back to Austin.

That night, we hit up Antone’s, a blue’s joint that is supposed to be the epitome of the Austin music scene. I have to say, I was completely in my happy place and this, plus the bike ride, was the highlight of my trip. It was open-mic night & it was basically a giant jam session. I actually really enjoy blues music & it was great seeing people so obviously passionate about it. I could have stayed there all night. You can tell a place is all about the music when it has been in business for years & only has folding chairs.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning I woke up early (again) & checked out Lance Armstrong’s bike shop/coffee joint. I really liked the vibe of the place, although the coffee was overpriced (shocking, I know). Then Christy & I attempted a hike while Hillary hit up the outlet’s. We got lost going to and on the hike but still enjoyed nature. Then we hit up Barton Springs, a natural pool that is constantly 67 degrees. Hillary and Christy didn’t bring their swimsuits & decided to walk around instead, but I swam for about 10 minutes, and then dipped my sore ankles in the pool while reading.

Tuesday night we hit up Rudy’s, a bbq joint in a gas station, for some Texas bbq. I can’t say I loved the food but we really enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a great way to end our trip. Rather than heading out again due to the early wake up, we got blue-bell ice cream and wine for our room.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I am sad to leave Austin. I feel like there is so much more to explore there and I definitely want to go back. I can’t say I loved the surrounding area (I hated the drive to San Antonio because it was just ugly & busy), but I definitely got a taste of the athletic & music scenes I have always heard such great things about. Honestly, I’d love to go back for a week & just bike/run/hike in various combinations each day. There were also several other music places we wanted to try.

I realized this trip that my ideal vacation is an active one. I loved getting up early & doing something active. I didn’t go on a bike ride because I felt I HAD to for training, I went because I wanted to and it’s my favorite way to explore a new place. Plus, the active parts of my day allowed me to enjoy the eating/drinking parts even more. The next vacation I plan will be full of adventure and I can’t wait to see what it is.

For now, my next non-vacation adventure will be working in London. Let’s hope I can fit in some biking/running for fun during my stay.

"Quick Request" turns into April in London

This week, I got a calendar invite from the VP of my group labeled "quick request." This was definitely unusual, but I thought it was just going to be for some sort of analysis she needed put together. I got to her office, and she started out asking me how I felt about the scheduled 2 week trip to our London and Glasgow offices at the end of May, with our business process team. I am excited about that trip for various reasons and told her so. Then she said "how would you like to go sooner (for a separate project)?"

I was a little thrown, and asked her how soon. The way our office works, you can come in on Monday and be sent to London or another foreign location by Friday. Luckily, I had a little extra time but they wanted me to go April 9th. I will be in Austin, TX on vacation that Monday and Tuesday and I was planning on flying back home Wednesday. Now, I will be flying straight from Austin to London at 10am, landing at 6:35am London time (12:35am Austin time) and heading straight to the office. I will be in London until April 27th. I am staying at an awesome in central london (the beauty of working for a hotel company). I was also be going with my old boss from Deloitte (who also works for my new company in a different group) and my other old boss currently lives in London so I am excited for the mini-reunion. She'll be running the London Marathon while I am there!

I will be heading back to Glasgow/London for the originally planned two week trip May 13th or so. Unfortunately, my parents will be traveling May 1-14th so I will only see them one weekend in the next 7 weeks, which considering I see them one to two times a week, is really weird. I am going to try to get them Skype tonight, but I am not hopeful about the success of that.

Of course, while I am excited about this trip, I am very nervous about the impact to my training. Ironman Training officially started this past week, and I have rides of 50-80 miles scheduled for while I am away. Luckily, through the magic of Google, I managed to find a couple of local triathlon teams and bike rental shops in the locations I'll be. I am hoping to meet up with them for weekend rides & they have been very helpful in giving me advice/suggestions. Mostly, I am also hoping this as a tool to meet people over there so that I get out of the hotel room and get to see non-tourist parts of London. If I miss a ride or two, it won't kill my training, but I just don't want to miss a full month of them.

I am most excited for biking in Austin, among all the other great things to do there. I have been dying to go to Austin for 4 years or so, mainly because I have heard such great things about the Austin biking, running, and music scene. The bike shop I e-mailed sent me a link to the Austin Cycling Events calendar and there were at least 15 rides to choose from that Sunday. I think that I am going to try to do a "ladies ride" from Lance Armstrong's bike shop (Mellow Johnny's). We'll also be staying right next to Town Lake (aka Lady Bird Lake) which is an awesome running path. And we're located very close to the downtown/bar area for some awesome music. It is going to be a great trip!

I will try to take tons of pictures while I am there. No promises on the success of that!

random thoughts that didn't fit into the last post

1) I apparently needed more recovery from the half marathon than I had originally thought. Sunday I went to the animal shelter & after walking the dogs for an hour and 20 minutes I was extremely exhausted & had to go home. Monday I tried to go to the gym to do some lifting but I settled for an EASY 3 mile run instead & then took the next two days off. I felt good on my run today though.

2) I have joined the my work's walking club. We get together once a week at lunch to go for a walk. I think I might do that a couple other times a week just to get outside while it is still super nice out.

3) I also joined my work's softball team. After watching my brother's games for two seasons, I am excited to test out my skills. My brother and I went to the batting cages last week, and 14 people showed up for our first softball practice on Wednesday. The season is long though so it'll be interesting to see who's still there at the end.

4) I might be going to London for work for two weeks, including memorial day. I am really excited because I wanted to go on my own but with all the triathlon stuff my vacation/money is all gone. 3-day weekend in Barcelona?

5) My newest music obsessions are so bad they're bad (or extremely good). One Direction (the british boy band invading america) and "Call Me Maybe" by the canadian teenager signed by Justin Bieber. They are quite catchy and it's about time we had another good boy band since we are in the era of 90s nostalgia.

6) A good CD you are probably missing (like really actually good, not so bad it's good) is Jake Owen's CD - Barefoot Blue Jean Night. There is only 1 song I don't like on it.

7) You should also check out Hunter Hayes. There is not a single song I don't like on that one.

Trails, Heels, and a credit card rejection

Did you all know that there is a limit to the number of times you can swipe your credit card in a single day before they cut you off (regardless of $$ amount spent)? Neither did I. I learned this the hard way on Saturday.

First though, this weekend was my last pre-Ironman training weekend. I made sure to enjoy it. Friday night I met up with Hillary and Christy to plan our Austin trip! We are going at the beginning of April. Austin is the number 1 place I have wanted to visit for the last 4 years and now I finally am! This is also the first time I've really "planned" a trip. Typically, I am more "go with the flow." Luckily, my bike trips have all been with MIT grads who love to plan so it has always worked out. Thanks to suggestions from a friend-of-a-friend and our friend Valerie, we have a laundry list of things to do and tentative plans which leave room for spontaneity. I am excited for good music, food, and day trip to San Antonio. I might also try to do a local group bike ride because one of the things I have heard about Austin is how great the running/biking is.

Saturday morning I woke up at 7am and couldn't go back to sleep. Luckily, I used that time to FINALLY go with to the Dog Park with my brother's dog. I have heard stories for the last couple of years but I have never gotten up early enough to go. It was a fascinating study in social behavior.

After that, I went on my semi-annual shopping spree (hence the credit card debacle). I HATE shopping. So 2-3 times a year I go on a massive one day extravaganza to get everything I need for that season. Usually, I drag a friend along but since I thought it would only be a 2 hour trip early on a Saturday. 4 1/2 hours later, I walked out of the mall. It was quite successful - I got everything I needed (with only a couple of splurges), and because I went to the Outlets I got great deals. I also made a surprise purchase (to me) of a pair of heels for work! Other than boots, I have worn flats to work and hate high heels. But as my time in spandex increases, so does my desire to be girly. Don't worry, I will bring my flats with me to work as well. My fashionable coworker is going to FLIP, based on her reaction to the dress I wore last Monday.

Then, in order to get ready for Texas, my friends and I made a trip to Hill Country BBQ in DC after a failed attempt to see the Cherry Blossoms. I think the pictures below speak for themselves.

"The Pitmaster" - 1/4 pound brisket, 1/4 chicken, 1 pork rib, and 1 beef rib
It was paying for this that my credit card got declined (lucky swipe #13). The piece of chocolate I bought to soothe myself after 4 1/2 hours of shopping really pushed me over the edge. And don't worry, at least 4 of those swipes were less than $7. I took advantage of the sales! Luckily I had just enough cash to cover the delicious dinner. (Not pictured: Banana Pudding & Apple Crisp).

Then this morning I woke up at 7 again. I had so much fun at the trail race a couple of weeks ago that I decided to volunteer at this morning's race. It was at Prince William Forest Park (the most amazing little gem of a national park down I-95). I was stationed at the final food aid station & spent all morning ensuring that everything was stocked, especially the trail mix/M&Ms. I was shocked and horrified to discover that the trail mix went MUCH faster than the M&Ms. It was a lot of fun & I met another person on the Team doing Ironman Wisconsin. To make up for all the munching I did while manning the aid station (I had to test the M&Ms to make sure they were still good), I decided to go for a run at the park. My initial plan was to stick with the road but that lasted 5 mintues before I veered onto the trails. Luckily I did because I was rewarded with the following:

Luckily it wasn't too muddy.

EEEEEK - Hill. Yep, that's vertical.

My FAVORITE. Beautiful. It was such a calm, peaceful run. I am so happy I found a local place to really test out trail running. I think I will definitely mix it into my training, especially recovery weekends where I could do my bike ride, switch shoes, and get in a trail run.

Tonight I have Swim Clinic #3. Should be interesting.

Happy Sunday! How was your weekend?

A half marathon, and a PR!!!

Today was an awesome day! I ran the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in DC. Last week, I briefly mentioned that I was hoping to PR. Going into the race today, I was very nervous because I had looked up my best time and it was a lot faster than I had thought (2:12, or 10:22 minute pace). That was back in November of 2009. Since then, I have focused more on running longer, not faster. I have done 3 marathons and a half marathon where you run slow to run far. While I have done some shorter distances, they are typically with my dad and I run his pace (slow). I love running with my dad, but I was really excited to see what I could do. When I signed up for the Ironman, I briefly considered trying to change to the full but then I realized there would be plenty of time to build up the run during the summer. I am quite happy with that decision!

After the Marine Corps Marathon, I was running pretty darn slow. I signed up for this race just to have something to train for, not even really thinking about trying to run it fast. Then I got my heart rate zones tested and have spent the last month and a half running much faster than I had been. That's when I got the idea in my head that maybe I could just push it and see how it goes. I only briefly mentioned it in my blog, because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't happen. My "plan" going into the race was to push it conservatively at the beginning and just see how long I could hold it. Honestly, I don't really know why I make plans because I usually change just make it up as I go along.

I was feeling pretty good until this week, when my first trip to the dentist in four years (I know, I know, shame) had me riddled with anxiety. I went to do a shake out run (just a 3ish mile run the day before to loosen up) during lunch, only to realize I had left one of my sneakers at home. Luckily, my coworker came through and I managed to get in a decent run which felt pretty good. That made me more confident heading into today.

I met up with my friends from high school Liz and Kim on the way to the race at 6am. I haven't seen Kim in a LOOONG time so it was great to see her again and catch up. Her dad was with us and had his spectator plan all detailed out. He knew the course better than us! We got to race around 7:30 (the metro was pretty slow because of the crowds) and managed to sneak in a bathroom run before heading to the start line with about 3 minutes to spare. That was much better than marine corps when I made it after the race had started.

Kim and I decided to run the first bit together (Liz was waaaay ahead of us, finishing with about an 8 minute mile pace). We also randomly met another Team Zer who introduced himself to me and will also be training for the Ironman with me all summer. I love the random connections that come with being on a team.

I knew I was doing well when our first mile, the one that is typically slow because of the crowd at the start was 10 minutes. Our next 4 miles ranged from 9:06-9:36 and I was feeling good. Unfortunately Kim was not (her knees were killing her) so we parted ways at mile 5 and I was just determined to hold onto that pace as long as possible, despite the heat that was building. I just kept thinking, if I blow up at mile 7, I can run 10 minute miles and PR. Then after mile 7, if i blow up at mile 8 I can run 10:30 minute miles and PR. This went on the whole race, but luckily the blow up never happened! And trust me, in two of my 3 marathons it definitely came.

I crossed the finish line after a strong, sub-9 minute mile in 2:02.43!!! A TEN MINUTE PR and a 9:22 minute/mile!!!!!! I was so happy that not only was I able to start off strong, but I finished strong as well. And I can promise you, I was quite happy not to be running 13 more. The half course was awesome, traversing through dupont circle, adams morgan, and around howard which provided some different scenery than just the monuments. The Rock'N'Roll series signature is bands at every mile, and they had a good mix. It was just overall a really fun race. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and the crowd support was awesome. The race, and my performance, really have me excited for the coming season.

Oh, and I was also super excited when my mom called me after the race and offered to bring me chinese food for lunch! What a surprise treat!

Below is a picture of Liz, me, and Kim at the finish. We all had fun and it was a great way to celebrate St. Patty's day.

Final Results:

2:02.43

Overall: 5,409 out of 16,291

Division: 877 out of 3,025 (top third!!)

Gender: 2,657 out of 10,707 (still top third!!)

Pie-Luck & new running adventures

This weekend was fantastic but not filled with sleep. It started out Friday night with walking my brother's dog who was quite rambunctious. After that, I went to book club where only 3 of the 10 people there had actually attempted to read the book. (I was not one of them and I honestly still don't know what book we were supposed to read). Regardless, it was a good chance to get together with friends and I found a game I really enjoy playing (I usually really dislike games).

Saturday I woke up early and met up with Sherry and a new person (to me) Amanda at Prince William Forest Park. That place is truly a gem. It's about 30 miles south of DC (and about 25 minutes from my house) and is easy to get to for a day hike (which I would definitely like to do). This is where Team Z does it's time trials because it has a BEAUTIFUL 7 mile loop that is low-traffic & has a good mix of hills and flats. The three of us did the loop 3 times, 2 times the normal way we've done it before and once backwards. We learned that the glorious downhill the normal way is a GIGANTIC hill going the opposite direction. It turns out Amanda and I have a lot in common. In order to determine if we were true kindred spirits, she asked the two questions triathletes would truly appreciate: 1) How do you feel about peanut butter? (Obsessed.) 2) How do you feel about Dairy Queen? (Who doesn't love a blizzard?) From that moment our friendship was sealed. It was nice to do the loop without trying to push as hard as we could go because it was even more enjoyable. I think I will keep that ride in my pocket for recovery rides this summer.

After lunch with the family and some time at the animal shelter, I was ready for the main event of the evening. In celebration of a nerd's favorite holiday (Pi Day, 3/14), my friend Christy hosted a Pie-Luck at her apartment. When I woke up Sunday, I swear I had a pie-hangover. There was quiche, pizza pie, pecan pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, lemonade pie, carrot cake whoopie pies, lemon-tart, sugar cookie shaped like a pie, and an apple sour cream pie. My contribution was this amazing chocolate-hazelnut-banana pie. It was SUPERB & contains nutella. With that combination there is no way I could go wrong. Kraft has some pretty awesome recipes. BTW, when I tried to explain to my coworkers that I usually find out about Pi Day and National Pie Day (two separate days) from Runner's World, they were confused about the connection. Don't most runner's run to eat pie (or cake, or cookies, or pizza)?!

Unfortunately, I had to leave the party early (and full to the brim) because I had signed up for EX2 Backyard Burn 5 mile trail run. This was before I knew it was daylight saving time. I have always wanted to do one of these but the timing is usually around marathon training & I haven't wanted to risk injury. I have heard great things about trail running and while Burke Lake is an intro, it is more family-friendly than true trail. This race was at Wakefield & is one of a series of 4. Luckily for me, this was the less technical/hilly race of the series. The run when great and I really enjoyed it! There was a lot of single-track trail so I hung with some other runners through most of the race and managed to finish the 5.6 mile (gasp at the deception!) run in 56:54 which is a pretty awesome time for me, considering that you usually are slower on the trails. I tried to keep in Zone 2 but it did not always happen (such as when I felt sick from the pie & realized my heart rate was about 5 beats from hurl). At least my average heart rate was in zone. EX2 throws some pretty awesome events and is staffed by great people so I am looking forward to doing more with them. Until then, this will be a good run to throw into my recovery run mix.

Tonight I am heading to class 2 of 4 of a foundation swim clinic I signed up for. I am truly hoping that I will learn to dislike swimming less if I improve my form. The first class wasn't too bad & I think it will really help. I also bought an underwater music player to help with the boredom. Despite my dislike for doing things Sunday night, I think it will be worth it.

Overall, this was a truly relaxed/fun training and social weekend. I am exhausted but it was worth it. I am doing the Rock n' Roll half marathon next weekend so this week will give me some ability to sleep in due to less working out (taper!). I am excited for the race because I have been running fast lately & I am hoping to push-it and see if I can get a PR (personal record) on Saturday. The race report will come next week.

One last note: I might have the opportunity to spend up to a month in London this spring for work. What is the first thing I did when I found out? I googled bike rentals & triathlon teams to see how I could fit in my training. Bike ride in Bathe anyone?