Luckily this year it fell on a "rest week" - bwahahahahahaha! I have rideen once. It sucked. It is sooooooooo boring down here. I mean Chicago is flat but this is beyond that....and it's hot....and boring.... yuck.

Anyway....the beach and the hanging out is a blast. Pics from the week:

Little P and his cousin - near aged partner in crime. These two are dangerous together. Smart and beefy. You turn around and they are cracking up as they tackle each other and play chicken. Mrs. P and her sister (Little P's Aunt) in the background.

Learning from an elder cousin.

Bliss. I have identified this moment as one of the moments I truly love in my life. I finally caught it in a picture.

Gulf shrimp, beer, rice, avacado, awesomeness on the side.

We went fishing on a charter again. 6 hours in the gulf and all we really caught was the bait. MMMmmmmm....tasty.

Part of me wishes I was back in Chicago and racing this weekend or at least riding in Wisconsin. With all of the riding I was able to pile on during vacation I think I was able to keep a lot of the normal vacation weight gain at bay. I haven't been on a scale, but I am feeling just as good as when I left. I think the 210-ish miles helped.

Superweek is coming up. I was hoping to put in for the Bensenville race(s). Only working 4 1/2 days this week because of RAIN next weekend. I realized today that I will have spent 3 weekends in a row crossing Indiana. Twice along the North-South route, and twice East-West.

Before I know it the Elgin crit will be here. I also wanted to get my TT setup rolling right and do more of the Chicago TT series. Summer is going by real fast. So fast I forgot that the tour was/is starting.

I can go on about the tour forever, but I am feeling like I don't care about this year's. I'll leave it at that.

I was riding today and got to a 1/2 way point and had to dodge all of the police and ambulances heading back towards the direction I came from. On the way back the road was closed and there was a helicopter taking off in the middle of the bike path.

Locals I guess. Surprising too considering the amount of vacationers here you would think one of them just got too sick of their in-laws.

I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Not awesome.

The ride was OK. The lack of hills is really ragging on me. The long flatness is sad. Riding the same road for 30 miles of every ride get super old.

We finally arrived. The beach.

I got everything unloaded and started trying to find my inner Zen. I'd need it.

This trip is one where I'll be surrounded by legions of in-laws. They're all great people, but they have the tendency to .....

Anyway. I started to feel my inner tension rise and decided maybe it would be a good time to head out on a ride before the rest of the crew got here. They were coming in on the ferry. I decided to ride out and meet them.

The wind was blowing pretty hard and you could tell a storm was coming this way. Even with the wind this is no Chicago. This is painfully flat. Disgustingly flat and the wind was like a Chicago mid-summer breeze.

The gearing was interesting because I swapped to a new cassette (unused 12-23). I figured it wasn't like I was going to need anything deep. I was sporting last year's CSC jersey. I received it as a gift. One of the actual Euro releases from the CSC company store. The driver I was riding out to see got it for me last year for Christmas. He either works for CSC or was consulting for them or something.....didn't ask.

The jersey was a size 4 Euro and it actually fits right now. Tight in the arms and a little snug around the spare tire, but definitly wearable in public without a second guess. I made it to the ferry and saw them land. Turned around and made my way back. Wasn't feeling super spunky after a few days in the car and lots of road food, but I still managed to get out a very respectable speed.

GOt back and began to find the zen in a bottle of beer and cheetos. I don't eat junk food anymore but my mother in law is the junk food queen. The place is littered with the stuff. I just can't avoid it all so I guess I'll have to ride harder and faster each day.

High fructose corn syrup is the devil.

I have a week at a beach house on the Gulf in front of me. Sun, sand, shrimp and beer....and the entire extended inlaw family. This year because of airline tickets we decided that it would be much cheaper to drive than to fly. This is even with the high gas prices.

Speaking of gas prices my last fillup was $3.89/gal. I saw as low as $3.49, but it was in the rearview mirror at the time.

Driving allowed us to set our own schedule, spend time together as our own family, see more of the country, bring more than we normally would have (or ever need). Driving also let me bring my bike.

I have been pondering rides along the shore. I have a few route in the 40-50 mile range. I plan on getting 40-50 miles in every day if possible with 1 rest day worked in (there is a gulf fishing trip already planned I believe which I must attend). I also plan on working in a century if possible.

Right now I am considering riding around the entire Mobile bay. I can catch the ferry off Fort Morgan to Dauphin island and then take the roads around. I saw one route on MapMyRides which alluded to doing this. Problem is I don't know if the roads referenced are ridable by bicycle, major highways, or routed through areas that would make Deliverance look like a Disney movie.

...which brings me to my next point....I don't really like the South. OK, I'm being nice I actually hate the South. [Generalizations] Everyone seems to be so laid back that they just appear downright lazy. Luch took over an hour for Pete's sake and most of that time was spent wiaitng for refills. No one can spell. I can't spell, but at least if I am making a sign for a business I would use spell check and/or have someone proof read it.[/Generalizations]

I get to ride....

Also I get to take little psimet crabbing on the beach. He'll LOVE IT! Of that I am sure.