Cross Country Travelers

The last time I checked in was from Minnesota. Shortly after my update, Lisa and I had to go chasing after Brandy, her parent's Beagle, who cleverly used a bathroom break as a moment to escape the yard. I'll be honest and accept responsibility for it because I let her out and then got distracted by finishing my blog post. In any case, it felt freezing cold outside with the winds whipping and temps in the 40s, so we were all happy when she decided to stop at a neighbors house, and they called to let us know. Disaster averted, Lisa and I took off the next morning with a final destination of Milwaukee, but there were two stops on Minneapolis and Madison. We met her brother for a nice breakfast in Minneapolis, then drove to Madison where we met some college friends for an early dinner prior to attending the Saris Gala. It was my first time at the gala. I was impressed with the number of people in attendance, and the enthusiasm displayed by everyone for WI bicycle advocacy. I really enjoyed my evening there getting to talk with local cyclists and supporters. I was happy to see the event raise a large sum of money for cycling in WI, too. A big thanks to Heidi and Don, and Tim for purchasing the two jerseys I had for auction.

The day after the gala, Lisa and I had our flight to NM for her dissertation defense. We arrived on Saturday night, and I rode a charity/group ride Sunday morning. The ride on Sunday was very enjoyable. I got to reconnect with friends I hadn't seen in awhile and make some new ones. Thanks to ZiaVelo for having me out! After the ride, Lisa and I made the final preparations which included cleaning out her office, doing a practice run of her defense, and getting/making treats for her committee. And about those treats... I'll only take credit for buying the supplies because when it came time to make them, I was little more than inspiration, comedic relief, and wrong instruction for Shayla (daughter of our kind hosts) who happily took charge of making the best batch of rice krispy treats most of us had ever seen/tasted. Monday arrived as Lisa's big day, and I am happy to report that she successfully defended her dissertation and is now officially Dr. Lisa Busche.

Since the defense, we wrapped up some loose ends in Las Cruces and said some final goodbyes on Tuesday, then made the drive to Boulder on Wednesday. We spent two nights in Boulder and are back on the road today. Our day in Boulder yesterday was quite busy. Lisa entertained herself with a nice run and good time with our friends Ally and Caleb. I was busy doing ride testing for Trek, you may have seen photos on Velonews. I was happy to help and excited to provide feedback when Trek asked me to be a part of the testing. Ben King and I were the two testers, and we rode 6 different frames. At the end of the day, we provided Trek with valuable feedback regarding the ride quality and handling characteristics of the bikes we tested. They'll use our feedback in the production of future frames. At the current moment, Lisa and I are driving through Nebraska, ultimately en route to Brevard, NC; however, we are stopping in Milwaukee to change cars and pick up bikes, clothes, etc. for the official beginning of our off-season time. We'll be in Brevard for a few weeks training, relaxing, doing yoga, house shopping, and enjoying our time together. It has been full gas for a month since the season ended, so we are really looking forward to staying put for a few weeks. Have a good day!