California...

Now who could complain about being in California for two weeks; not I. I have been blessed with the ability to travel all over for training, racing, and sponsorship functions. Well, this time my trip was without racing and filled with glamour...

The first few days I spent in San Diego with the 2XU crew. They brought me through their building where a lot of the magic happens...great people, great minds, always equals greatness. That goes without saying; the 2XU products speak for themselves. The best part of my trip to San Diego was the 2XU photo shoot. Granted, photo shoots always make it for a long day. To be perfectly honest, I think I was more exhausted from being in front of a camera than I am after a long training day. I guess some things come more natural than others. None-the-less, I had a good time. To share a little secret, I have always needed a glass of wine to take the edge off during a photo shoot; not this time around. The team worked very well together. John, the photographer was outstanding, he made ME look like I knew what I was doing in front of a camera; that says a lot...

The following day, I flew out to San Jose to meet up with the rest of the Specialized team in Morgan Hill, where we spent a week training and being educated on all the specialized products. What a great opportunity. Just when you think you have a grasp on what goes into

a bike and all bike products, head down to Specialized in Morgan Hill, they will open your eyes to a whole new world; at least they did mine. I was extremely impressed with the time they took to educate all of us on their products. I am now very confident in talking shop.

Not only did we go through education, we also were put to the test during the lunch ride. Get a bunch of bike junkies out on the road together and they will show you a good time. It was fast and fun! I believe their goal was to see how many of us triathletes they could drop :). Post hammer fest, we extended the ride to take time for some action shots. More fun times to be had.

The Specialized crew also made arrangements for the team to participate in a few pro night functions at various shops, one of which was the Spokesman in Santa Cruz. These functions allow people in the area to congregate, ask questions, and interact with pros and other athletes with common interests and concerns about the triathlon world. As always, a good group of people.

I can't lie, it was nice to be home for a few days beforeI had to fly out again for Galveston 70.3. Those two weeks in California were great but exhausting too. I'm not accustom to stringing my days from end to end. Getting up early and going to bed early is one thing. But getting up early and going to bed late is a totally different world. Sure would be nice if there were more hours in a day; I'm sure we all can relate to some degree with that comment. Now it's time to gear up for Galveston 70.3...