October 10th, 2006
Livestrong Challenge Austin Day 1
So Im back from Austin having completed the Austin Livestrong Challenge. Ive decided to post a day-by-day summary of the event so keep an eye out for the updates.
So Friday morning I woke up at 7 to get my shower and all the rest of my stuff together to head over to my friend Ron’s so we could load up the bikes and head to the airport. This year we flew out Friday instead of Thursday mainly because I wanted to see the NC State vs Florida State game, which State won and made me extremely happy I stayed to see it. I got over to Ron’s and got the bikes loaded up and headed out into the normal I-40 traffic snarl. Ron boxed my bike up because I still fairly mechanically inept and he can do it in his sleep.
When we got to the self-check in machines we got to deal with an extremely helpful American Airlines clerk, and I say that with dripping sarcasm. He came over the counter to tell us that we had to come to the desk and pay seperately for our bike boxes and didnt believe us when we said our travel agent the LAF hooked us up with had already taken care of everything. He went back to check his computer while we ignored him and finished our check in. He never admitted we were right but when another agent took our bikes he said that we still had to “make weight”. That agent must’ve realized he was a prick too and ignored him.
The flights were uneventful. We had one stopover in Dallas before going on to Austin. I was able to do all my accounting reading for my MBA while I was on the plane. I was hoping to have it finished so I wouldnt have to deal with it on the trip but wasnt able to. When we got into Austin we were happy to find that our bikes had made it on our flight. Last year we had to wait two hours for our bikes to show up. Here’s a tip when traveling with bikes, never use the curbside check-in just to be safe. However, the rule for us it seems is that we can never leave the Austin airport easily. This time our minivan wasnt ready so we were stuck waiting another hour before we could get into town.
When we got to our hotel downtown, the Courtyard Marriot, and it was outstanding. We were on the opposite corner from the convention center where the Livestrong village was and in walking distance to everything downtown. We got our stuff to our room and headed to the village to pick up our registration packets. When we walked in we were suprised to find it about half the size of last years village if not smaller. There werent as many people or vendors as were in the Ride For The Roses last year. Our first stop was the Livestrong store which had a lot of Livestrong Challenge gear as well as the normal Livestrong apparel. I picked up a Livestrong Challenge jersey, a dri-fit shirt, some socks, and a shirt over the course of the weekend. We wandered around the booths and Ron and I picked up some sunglasses since i had cracked mine at the layover in Dallas and it was 2 for $20.
We got our packets and we both qualified for a free Livestrong bag, which was a backpack with tons of packets and the Challenge logo on it. Ill have to admit I prefer the sling bag from the Ride For The Roses last year but this will be an ideal overnight bag for short trips. Afterwards we stopped by the Livestrong wall to put up cards for my grandfather, mother, two aunts, and my girlfriend Nikki’s cousin who was diagnosed last week with liver cancer and sadly she found out today that he passed away. I also carried cards on my jersey over the course of the ride for all of the above and gave Nikki the card as well as pictures of me wearing it at the start and finish line to give his family. Hopefully it will help somehow for them to know his name was carried in his honor.
We headed back to the hotel to wait for Ron’s friend Paul to arrive from Houston to hang out with us for the night. While we were waiting we broke open the bike boxes and got them put back together and in one piece so they’d be ready to go on Sunday. Afterwards we headed down to Champions in the hotel to eat when Paul showed up and joined us. We had heard that there was a professional criterium, crit for short, downtown so once we finished eating we walked downtown to check it out.
If you dont know what a criterium is, its a short course of either a certain number of laps or time limit that is run over several blocks over and over. When we got there it was the 3 and 4 riders running which are classifications of amateur riders. Even with their skill level they were still going at a good clip. After that the women and men over 30 were up for a 45 minute run and were followed by the professionals. The pros are something special to watch as they’re moving at about 30+ miles an hour and when they cut the corners you feel a rush of wind blowing by. It was fun to watch and moreso since Paul hadnt seen one. I had never seen one before last year and i had the same disbelief at the speeds they were running. Unfortunately during the last lap there was a wreck involving several riders but they all appeared to be ok afterwards. The ending may have been a tie as two teammates from the San Jose team crossed holding giving each other high fives. It was too close to call but it was definitely the San Jose team’s crit.
Afterwards it was running close to midnight and since we were still on east coast time it felt like one so we packed it in for the night. Day 2 is up tomorrow.
