The cats are purring

The first thing I asked Jon this morning was if he was feeling well.  (What I meant was if he was still shitting like he was pissing).  He said he felt fine (which I took to mean that he was feeling fine).   I had mixed feelings about Jon feeling like his old self again.  On one hand, I was glad his Cats were feeling better, and that we would be able to ride faster.  On the other hand, I knew that meant he was going to hurt me.  After all of my own cramping yesterday, I woke up stiff and sore this morning.  It felt like my hamstrings and quads were going to cramp just getting out of bed. It was an auspicious start to the day.  

Today's stage was an "easy" one.  28 miles and 4000 feet of climbing.  Jon went out fast in his usual style.  I puttered along in my usual style.  We eventually met in the middle once I got warmed up.  Once we got going, my legs actually felt good.  Suspiciously good.  The climbs were steep, but I felt comfortable, and I actually stayed around my threshold.  Jon was strong, and he showed no signs that he felt any residual effects from the day before.   I had made a bottle of Accelerade for the Aid station and dumped an unmeasured amount of salt into it.  I only realized that I may have put a bit much when my lips puckered.  But it went down okay, and it kept me going.  I was even able to hang with Jon for the race.   There wasn't a lot of mileage, but there was a lot climbing.  My new $600 bike (not a Huffy, but close) actually rides great.  It descends like a bowling ball and climbs like one too.  I got stronger as the stage went on and we both finished strong, both feeling good at the finish line.  Incredibly, I didn't cramp!  As Jon would say, "Yeah, that's alright, mmhmm."  Crazy F__king British.

As a side note, Jon had never eaten Totinos frozen pizzas, so we picked up a couple for dinner.  They are crazy expensive up here at altitude.  Like $1.60 per pizza.  I also introduced him to Eggo waffles.  If it weren't for me, poor Jon wouldn't ever get to sample some of Americas finest cuisine.

All in all, a good day.  We didn't change in the standings, but we can build on this.  Tomorrow is the biggest day.  42 miles,  10,000 feet of climbing.  

BTW, we didn't actually pay off Stuart and Steve to switch categories.  They moved to the 80+ division because they are . . . old.  Thanks for being old, guys.  Stuart, I still owe you some socks.

One last thing,  Jenn and Chris stopped their race so that they could help another team's member convert her bike to a single speed after her derailleur cable broke.   When I asked how their race went, they didn't even mention it!  Jeez, I'd be bragging about it to everyone who asked (and even those who didn't)!  Big props you two.

Time for sleep.  Big day tomorrow.

out.