It is rather funny how competitive cyclists…or athletes in general are!  Take for example my Fitchburg roommate Teddy and I.  We are staying in the dorms at the Fitchburg State College where the bathrooms are located across the hall.  Being a community bathroom the floors are disgusting so instead of putting on shoes to piss at night an empty gallon water jug by my bedside has come in handy.  Needless to say it is catching on as 3rd place Fitchburg GC rider Teddy King has recently adopted the practice.

As a corollary to the Fitchburg stage race Teddy and I are having our own race “The Gallon Challenge.” The winner is the first to top off their jug.

 Currently, after stage two  Teddy (bottle on left) has taken a few ounces out of me (bottle on right).  However, it is a long race and I am confident in my abilities!

Wow, it has been difficult entertaining ourselves w/o tv the past few days! 

Time to go race, g.

Ahhh…stage one of Fitchburg complete and the good news is that I finished the tt…it may have only been 43rd place @1:22 back but I was happy to be racing and tomorrow will be better!  My teammates: Grahamo…2nd, Scotty…6th, and Teddy 9th…smashed it today. Nice job guys!

Anywho, this week while racing in Fitchburg we get to stay at the Fitchburg State College dorms which I am excited about.  While going to college I never had the opportunity to live on campus so here I am today…living the on campus dream!

 My dorm room which I share with Teddy.

 My roommate doing his homework.

 The common area.

What good is a dorm room w/o a girl?? Anyway, our helper for the week Laura!

 Unfortunately this semester Teddy is my roommate and Scotty is having a hard time dealing with it.  He often stops by in search of some comforting after arguing on the phone with his gf!

Okay time for bed…

night, g.

Last night was my teammate Teddy King’s hometown race…the Exeter Crit.  Therefore Richie, Scotty, and I were racing in support of Tedward hoping to get the hometown hero a win.  However, since it was my last full day in New Hampshire  I decided to make it a memorable one by crashing and landing myself in the hospital for a majority of the evening :(

Not exactly sure what happened aside from the fact that approximately halfway through the race a guy went down in front of me leaving nowhere to go except over my bars??? 

After an abulance ride to the hospital, x-rays, and follow up ct scan I was released with no broken bones which was good.  However, I am left with a massive headache, neck pain, and my shoulder and chest hurts when I breath…oh yeah and a massive bill!

Yeah I am probably whining a bit and need to toughen the f&%k up but it was definitely one of the harder falls I have taken in awhile and I am crazy sore.  More importantly it serves as one of those reminders of how fortunate I am and how in a matter of a few seconds that can all be taken away!

Anywho, tomorrow is the first stage of Fitchburg which will be interesting but I am going to give it a go.

 Photo courtesy of Teddy King….nurse taking of my shorts at the Exeter hospital.

Thanks to my teammates and to Teddy’s parents for helping me out!

later, g.

Today marks my fourth day in the lovely state of New Hampshire and so far it has been great.  The past day and a half however, have been absolutely crazy and full of firsts!  Here are some pictures…

 Last evening was my first ever food shop in New Hampshire and the aisles of the “Market Basket” were packed. If I would have known that beforehand I would have worn my nice shirt!

 Yeah Scotty there are the same number of eggs in a dozen here in New Hampshire as there is in California!

 Now onto this morning where I got to have my first ever New Hampshire Starbucks coffee.

 Ooohhhh, here is the state flower of New Hampshire…poison ivy!  I have never had poison ivy before which makes me want to touch it to see if anything happens?

Then this evening I even got to watch my first New Hampshire bad movie….”The Incredible Hulk”…it was terrible! However, after the movie Teddy drove Scotty, Richie and I over the bridge into Maine! Maine…check that off the list off states to visit!

Tomorrow is the Exeter Crit near Teddy’s parents house so hopefully we can get the local hometown hero a win?

Okay, I am off to listen to Scotty argue on the phone with his gf…

…it is very stressful listening to them argue…five times a day! This stress is throwing my cortisol levels all out of whack…no wonder why I was unable to win the other day!  Seriously, why can’t we all just get along?

later, g.

Thought I would pass along this photo of my teammate Teddy…

…or is that Richard Simmons?

Photo courtesy of Scotty who spotted it while pissing in the downstairs bathroom of Teddy’s parent’s house!

later, g.