Tour of Utah 0.1: The Preface to the Prologue

So here we are. In Utah. Things are great. We're settled into our home stay. We're staying up in a beautiful neighborhood, somewhere high up in the clouds, halfway between Salt Lake and Park City. Here's what we did today:

Saw deer!

We woke up and found that our home stay is frequented by wild deer even more than by traveling cyclists. Here's the sweet little thing munching on the garden right outside the office:

Went Riding!

Yes, the air is thin up here, and the sun beats down with ferocity, but good lord is it pretty!

Ate Dinner!

There was a free pasta feed for the racers. Nothing, and I mean nothing stirs up the predatory instincts in amateur cyclists like the words "free pasta feed." Like sharks smelling blood in the water, we descended from our perch atop the mountains to the Sheraton Hotel, race headquarters for the Tour of Utah, and gorged on pasta, veggies, and bread. 

Chris came, even though he eats a gluten-free diet. Only a cyclist would bring pasta to a pasta feed: 

Top-Secret Training!

We added an impressive new feature to the Hagens Berman team van, one normally only seen on the best-equipped pro-tour teams. We now have the ability to spin our legs while we're in the van, thanks to our state of the art stationary trainer. 

Here's Sean, cranking out ~580 watts.

The advanced mechanism that controls the resistance does indeed get hot! I burned my finger on it quite badly. We poured water on the crank arms and it sizzled off as though it were a hot skillet!

We will now be the most warmed-up, and cooled-down team here at the Tour of Utah!