It's good RAAM training.....

I've been pretty absent lately from a lot of things, and blogging has definitely been one of them! A lot of things have been going on and I thought I'd catch everyone up.

First of all, this is SO belated, but thank you all so much for supporting our silent auction at All 3 Sports in conjunction with the Crowie book signing. It was a huge success, and we raised over $5,000! I MC'd the event, and managed to not say any bad words, which I think was also a HUGE success! I didn't trip and fall off stage either. Bonus!

We rode to Everglades National Park and saw ALLIGATORS!

You can park your bike next to the Bentley's and not worry about it

Kacie and I went down to south Florida for an amazing weekend of training. We rode over 300 miles, spending time off the bike and getting back on and riding more. It is a totally different feeling to take a break and then ride again, one that we need to get used to before RAAM. The weather wasn't on our side the entire time, and we got rained on quite a bit. Jason's new favorite term for everything is "it's good RAAM training!" and it really was. There is a great chance we will get rained on in RAAM too!

This is not ideal biking conditions!

Fast forward a couple of weeks and Kacie, myself and our Crew Chief Anne headed up to Columbus, Ohio for a Race Across America Crew seminar. This was hosted by Fred Boethling, the owner of RAAM. It was a great opportunity for us to learn more about race logistics, rules, gear needs, tips, etc. There is no right way to crew or train for RAAM. but there are many wrong ways of doing things. By learning from others mistakes, we are hoping to make our journey as flawless as possible. It was also decided that Ohio is cold, and no cyclist should ever be subjected to winters like that!

Jason's neck brace...pimp!

In the midst of all the craziness of training, we decided to move. House hunting, contracts falling through, drama galore, all seems like it's good RAAM training. I got hit by a rock while riding and bruised my ankle, Jason said it was good RAAM training too. Last weekend we had terrible weather. Cold and windy, I rode 4 hours inside Sunday then we headed out to Stone Mountain so I could get in 60 miles there. 55 miles into the ride a lady pulled smack out in front of us. Jason slowed down, but still went "splat!" right into her minivan. I reacted in a not-so-nice way, using some choice words. Jason ended up with a fracture in his C6, a separated clavicle and some torn ligaments. His bike is totaled. We spent 8 hours in a Grady Trauma unit because he suffered a pretty bad concussion. At 2 am we were still in the hospital. I hadn't showered, or eaten a lot, was tired but thankful Jason was going to be okay. I told him "this is good RAAM training" of course, minus the hospital part! As a result of the concussion Jason's been "fuzzy-headed" ever since. We got in the car and he let me sing a Katy Perry song and didn't change the channel. Then he opened up a second jar on peanut butter before the first one was gone. He's having a hard time focusing on things. So basically, he's acting like me. We are hoping it will clear up soon. There's only room for one Dani-brain in our house!