I have made it to Kansas- it’s hot, hot, hot. I’ve been told it’s ‘humid’ but it’s nothing like Asia so I don’t think it’s really that bad :-S Maybe it will hit me Sunday!
Only just making my connecting flight to Kansas city after waiting in the Dallas customs line for 2hours I was greeted by the lovely Kent and Liz Dobbins who , thanks to Pip Taylor (& Justin), have done nothing but gone out of their way to make me feel at home and help me around the beautiful city of Lawrence. So once home and rested I set out on my bike towards the bike course. As I got a couple kms down the road I was thinking- geez my quads are working hard and this seat seems a bit low??? I realised my seat post had slide almost the whole way down and that the thread on the seat post clamp was smooth…. Bugger….. Back home and down to the awesome guys at Sunflower outdoor & bike to order me a new Cannondale seat post clamp. Okay- the bike problem that usually happens pre-race has happened. So I headed off to the pool for a swim in the sun- I have definitely chased summer! I was greeted by a text after my swim telling me that the boys have found some cracks in my handle bars- oh..... I said a few explicit words here….. Back to the shop where they showed me the couple of cracks and residual flex that was now in my bars- not safe to ride on that’s for sure! So straight up in the USA I’m now having to buy new bars & break levers, a new stem to fit the new bars and replacing my seat post clamp. Every time you think you’re getting ahead you take 4 steps back. Thank god I upped my credit card limit before I left!
Well at least it was found now rather than having my bars snap mid race, me crash and end my USA trip prematurely. So I am without bike- enforcing rest and lots of swimming and running on the awesome dirt track levee bank, whilst trying to contact my insurer to get this sorted, all the time crossing my fingers I will have MY bike come race day.
None the less- I have a wonderful homestay, Cheryl. Many thanks for having me stay for the week. Lawrence is a lovely city with leafy streets with houses you’d expect Dorothy to live in! The pool is a 5 minute walk from where I’m staying and the levee for running 3mins down the road. Liz drove me over the bike course yesterday and I must say it’s a fair but really fun looking course- the whole thing runs like a roller coaster. I’m really excited to race this weekend, though it appears to be quite a competitive pro women’s field. Racing in the heat will give me a good warm up for Buffalo Springs 70.3 in 2.5weeks as I hear it is a scorcher.
Will keep you posted on how Kansas 70.3 goes this Sunday. You can follow my race at ironmanlive.com
Rachie xo
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