Today is going to be long.  I’m still feeling yucky.  I have an almost impossible time believing that I raced a 100 mile gravel road race last Sunday.  Now it is supposed to rain all day, again.

Yesterday it rained most of the day.  It cleared in the late afternoon and I couldn’t stand it anymore.  I got dressed an rode 10 miles.  It was for sanity sake.  I actually was pedaling aright from mile 6 -8, but by 10, I was done.  It got me thinking about how Bromont now feels on his “walks”.  He walks about 50 meters twice a day now.  I can see it in his eyes how disappointed he is in himself.  I tell him it’s okay and he’s a good boy.

It was crazy watching the US Criterium Championships yesterday.  Think I’ll post about it tomorrow.  Then Amstel Gold today.  Bike racing is so interesting to me because it is very unpredictable.  Americans like predictability in sports.  Not me.  I like getting watching athletes get rewarded for well thought out risks.  Cycling has a lot of that to offer.

Catherine came back to town to visit her mom and ended up making an offer on a house.  So, officially, she is moving back to Topeka from Seattle.  I think Seattle was just too much city for her and Keith.  I have to admit, riding there takes a lot of effort.  It is not like you can ride a couple miles and be out on pretty abandoned county roads like here in Topeka.

If I don’t feel better by tomorrow, I should probably go to the doctor.  I don’t really have a regular doctor.  My guy quit and started working for a hospital and I don’t like the other people they sent me to, so I usually just go to the clinic place.  You don’t ever see the same people, but at least you don’t have to make an appointment.

My team mates went down to Houston to do the MS150.  It rained there yesterday and they cancelled the first day.  I thought that was weird, but there are over 10,000 people doing it and most of them are on their limits just riding the 80 miles, so doing that in a storm wouldn’t be wise.  And it is just a charity event.  I’m not sure what Brian, Bill, Matt and the other guys did.  I bet they just did the ride from Houston to the ranch house, where we stayed last year and then rode today as normal.   It was a warm rain I’m sure.  It is supposed to be 90 there today.  Probably a little muggy.

Okay, now that I think about it, it’s not really a bad day.  Gonna hang with Bromont and keep him company.

Our walks are sometimes more standing than walking now. He doesn like to sniff the air.

I’ve woke up the last two morning with a pretty serious headache.  I don’t get headaches much and feel really sorry for anyone that gets them often.

I’m pretty sure I know the reason.  It’s probably from drinking too much red wine before going to bed.  I don’t drink much and if I drink right before going to bed I shouldn’t be surprised when I wake up with a headache.

I’m not sure why I do it when I know the consequences.  I guess I don’t take the next morning into consideration the night before.

The last couple days haven’t been all that great.

First, Bromont isn’t doing very well.  Actually, he’s doing pretty badly. I was hoping that he would feel better after getting some new red blood cells, but it didn’t seem to help him at all.

Nothing seems to go right when I’m dwelling on Bromont.  I decided I should do some manual labor to take my mind off of him, so I went to a rental center to get a big trailer to haul a bunch of vegetation.  It took forever for a new girl at the rental place to check me out.  I went around to get the trailer and the wire for the 4 hole light hookup wouldn’t reach to my tow hitch eletrical.  I have a 7 prong outlet and had bought a adaptor to allow a 4 hole plug to work.  The guys that were hooking it up said they would look for an extention to connect the 3 feet.

They came back and said I had to buy one from them for $10.  I told they I wouldn’t.  Seems like that should be part of the rental.  They sent me inside.  Inside, I talked to the owner.  He told me that “they” used to loan them, but that no one returned them, so “they” just started selling them.  I told him I’d return it and that if I didn’t they could just take it from the deposit.  He said no, that isn’t how they do it anymore.  I asked him why he was using the word they?  I knew he owned the business.  He didn’t answer.  I figured I’d go to an auto parts store and buy one.  I didn’t want to give they guys my money.  So I left.

The owner followed me out and said that he didn’t think the trailer was going to work and proceeded to disconnect it.  I didn’t say a word to him, just let him proceed.  What a prick.   I am never rented any tools there again, and I rent a fair amount of tools.

So, I used a small trailer I have.  I had to mince the stuff, with a chainsaw, to fit it all into the smaller trailer, but did, which was the highlight of the day.  I guess I saved $75, but it was a lot more work.

I decided to go for a ride after that.  I got 4 miles from my house and flatted on some glass.  Then I proceeded to try to fix it with, what it seems now, two flat tubes.  I had to ride home on the flat.  I just left my bike in the garage, not messing with it.  I hope I didn’t hurt the rim much.

So then, I decided to go mow.  This was at about 7 pm and it gets dark here a little after 8.  Plus, it was supposed to start raining anytime.  I got done mowing two places and then went down to the building.  No one, me or Kris, hadn’t mowed there yet.  There were a fair amount of leaves, plus Sycamore balls, or pollen, or whatever you call it, all over.

It was like mowing in a dust bowl.  Dry leaves, pollen, etc. everywhere.  It was a mess and I could barely breathe.  About 1/2 way through, the mower quit working.  It was dark by then.  I took it over under the light and it looked like the gas tank, which is metal, had broken off the mower.  Something that I couldn’t fix quickly.  So, a half complete job.  I hate leaving a lawn half mowed.  It is like shoveling  half a driveway.  It must be something in my mind, but it drives me nuts.

I’m over it this morning.  It rained all night, pretty hard, so I’m not finishing it today anyway.

There are lots of places I’d rather be right now.  There are at least three different races, Joe Martin, which is just down the street, The Whiskey 50 MTB race and the Belgian Waffle Ride, North of San Diego, that I’d like to be doing this weekend.  But, I’m home.

It is pretty stressful taking care of a dying animal.  Especially a dog that has been with you for a long time.  I can’t think of many things worse to do.  But, I can’t imagine doing anything else.  It is exactly where I’m supposed to be, no matter how much tension it causes.  We are best friends and it is my place to help him through this.

I do hope today goes a little smoother though.

I know this doesn’t have anything to do with this post, but I was stunned by how shitty the bikes were, at every bike rack, on the K-State campus. I had no idea this was the case.