Update

Well, the job didn't start as planned yesterday. I'm concerned about the economic stability of the company - the owner doesn't want me to start until the week that the other guy leaves. Maybe it's a sign that I need to keep exploring other possibilities.

Took Olivia to the Tumbling Creek 6 hour mountain bike race in Gainesville on Saturday - once again, a last minute team formation left me racing. I paired with Betsy Austin for a co-ed team. Friends of mine, Chris and Brigette Dusack, have a daughter, Norah. They set up a tent and the girls played in it all day. Chris and Brigette do a team at each race. We all took turns when we weren't riding watching the kids. Everyone had a great time and Olivia was on her best behavior. It's really cool to be able to spend time riding and being able to hang out with Olivia as well. It couldn't have worked out better and Olivia is being exposed to sports.

There was a "Lemans" start, where we ran about 500 meters around a lake to a staging area where the bikes where. I don't run much anymore, but compared to other cyclists I guess I'm pretty good. I got into the transition area in 3rd place, and thanks to cyclocross skills of being able to get on my bike quickly, I led the first mile or so of the race. I settled into 3rd, knowing I was going to ride 2 laps before handing off to Betsy. I clipped off some pretty fast laps and we had a nice lead. The course was fairly flat, but there were some really muddy spots, some tight singletrack, and brutal winds in the open field where the transition and our tents were.

Olivia and Norah

Cyclists running usually ain't pretty!
The winds when we rode the mile or so on this field were brutal

We ended up finishing 2nd. Not a bad effort at all. I was on the bike about 3 1/2 hours total. Physically, I felt pretty strong. I still have a lot to learn technically. I met a tree on my last lap and I've got the bruises to prove it! All in all, a great day though. I spent less money than I would have taking Olivia to a movie, and we probably had a lot more fun.