Day One in Louisville has been an interesting day. It started last night on our arrival to the Louisville airport from Seattle. I checked my bike in at the Delta counter in Seattle with the honest hope that it would show up in Louisville the same time as our bodies did. The process is a little like playing the slots in Vegas...you put in the bike in one slot and hope that you at least break even with the bike popping out of the chute when the red light spins and the siren starts at the other end.
After a few pensive moments of watching everyone's luggage circle and few other bike cases pop out, I recognized my case coming out on the belt. I was standing with a few other racers at the time...my joy lasted about two seconds when I recognized that my bike looked like it had either been run over by the plane we flew on, dropped on the tarmac from a height of 100 feet or was in this commercial www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ8QMaJEtvk . The other racers groaned in unison when they saw it and I am sure all of them were thinking..."Man, it sucks to be you. Christine said my face looked like this
I hauled the bike over to the baggage counter and asked the agent to open the remnants of my case with me as a witness. Inside the case was a TSA inspection slip (Inspector Number XXXXXX) and a spaghetti mix of stuff that I had meticulously bagged and packed. TSA Agent # XXXXXX apparently has boogers for brains and upon ensuring that my $8,000 bike was no peril to security threw all my stuff back in the case and then half-assedly closed it up. I am sure this is his family reunion photo with his brother or sister.
The good news is that my bike survived and I had a good bike test run this morning.
Both Christine and I have been fighting the flu the last three days. I am 95% today, but Christine was in bed all day sicker than a dog...(sorry Pep and Wendell). The flu did not stop me from swimming this morning for 30 minutes in the Ohio River. It was warm (84 Degrees in the water) and very calm. It has an odd oily smell to it, but the three eyed fish don't seem to mind...
Tomorrow will be a day of sleeping, drinking water and eating.
E
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