Tucson

It's been a bit of a whirlwind since returning from Belgium, but it could be worse. I was home for about 3 days and then we loaded up the Hyundai and headed south. The Touring was sweet. 4 bikes, tons of gear, full comfort and even room for Rosco.

He was guarding the Belgian Chocolate in the back seat. First stop

was in St. Louis. Second stop was in Amarillo, TX. Final destination was achieved on Sunday at about 7:00pm.

No IPODS, NO satellite radio, very little cell phones, but lots of AM radio. 4 NFL Wild Card games helped pass the time. Every single game came in crystal clear, except for the last 3 minutes of the Packers game....can you believe it?

We are shacking up in a guest house on the East side of town close to the base of Mt. Lemmon and Suagaro National Park. It is awesome here. A bunch of fellow Wisconsonites are staying at the main house on the property. Lots of good training rides in the future.

My first day in Tucson was spent building the new Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL. WOW. It's going to be sweet. Trek updated the frame with internal cable routing, BB90 Precision Fit Sockets, and a Net Molded tapered head tube! Its again stiffer and lighter! I can't believe they took the best bike I have ever raced and made it better!

Even more impressive is the new Shimano XTR Dyna-Sys. Crisp shifting, smooth brake action, and perfect gear combos. The bike is stocked with dual lockout FOX front and rear suspension.

I took it for a small spin after spending a solid 6 hours building her up, bleeding the brakes, and setting up the suspension. Again...WOW. I feel like I'm 'sitting on the toilet' when riding it and it feels a little heavy after spending so much time on the 14 pound cross bikes, but as soon as it hits the dirt she'll be right at home!

Now I just need to kick this little cold I've been fighting so I can enjoy the nice weather!