Today was the cyclists first day using their bikes in Seattle. It started off with us being late to the morning meeting which causes us to have to wake up thirty minutes sooner the following day. Once everyone got together, we headed for the Space Needle so the cyclists could start on their skills assessment training. This consisted of them partaking in four different exercises to get accustomed to the tricks of the trade on the bicycles. The first one was a cone obstacle course that required sharp turns and being able to maneuver their bikes really well. Only a few cyclists were able to get through all of their rounds in the course without falling over. Once that was over they proceeded on to the pace lining exercise where they practiced going around in a circle and pulling/falling back in their pace lines as well as calling out when there was debris or traffic coming. After that they were required to ride up a small incline and practice looking back and calling out what numbers we held up in the air. They also were required to practice grabbing a drink from the water bottles too. The last exercise was just practicing changing a tire. A lot of cyclists encounter flats during the summer and it's imperative that they are able to change them quickly so that they don't slow down the group.
After that we broke for breakfast and also went up to Kerry Park for our team picture. The setting was truly wonderful and the weather was perfect. We all got together and were able to take pictures with Seattle in the background as well as with other cyclists. I was able to snag a really cool picture of the back of the jerseys with Seattle in the background. It was really tight. I also got a pretty cool picture of myself with Seattle in the background too. Then we all got together and got in the order that we will be taking our pictures in for the rest of the summer. We took our official team photo which is confidential until the end of the summer or I would totally post it.
Once lunch was over we got the chance to hear our cycling coach, Dean speak. He works at the Velodrome in Indianapolis and helps out Push America a lot. After he spoke the cyclists got to ask some questions about their bikes and helped some of them one on one with some issues they were having. Afterwords we were dismissed for a few hours of free time, FINALLY. I more than took advantage of the opportunity and took a much needed nap. When I woke up it was time to go to our friendship visit which was at the Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle. We were hanging out with the Arc of King County and having dinner with them as well. The park overlooked the water and while there we got to hang out with a lot of the staff and friends of the Arc. We met this guy, Eric, who was truly a sight to see. He had a thirst for life and was determined to meet every person there. He was very cool and when we went to say our goodbyes he said, "it was nice to meet you. Keep that smile," to every single guy. It is weird to think because we take our smiles for granted, and I wouldn't have thought that if I hadn't come in contact with Eric. Tomorrow is our practice ride and we have to get up thirty minutes earlier. I'm pretty stoked to get this thing started. Thursday can't come soon enough!
Keep your smile.
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