Up next in my sponsor appreciation series is Steve Harad of Kestrel Bicycles. Anyone who knows Steve knows he is passionate about the sport of triathlon, and loves to make fast bikes!
I have been with Kestrel for 2 years now, and I simply love the bike. I'll admit, with the release of the new Kestrel 4000, I was a little reluctant. I'd gotten to know my Airfoil pretty darn well and loved the fact that it didn't have a seat tube. The fact that they'd added one to the 4000 bummed me out; to me the missing piece is what made a Kestrel a Kestrel. Now having had some time to get to know the new 4000? All I can say is that in this case? More is better. The 4000 feels much more responsive to me, and most importantly, it fits better! (Plus it's super cool looking, but if I say that first, I seem shallow.....but it is super cool looking!!)
So please allow me to introduce to you, Steve Harad and Kestrel Bicycles:
1) Tell us a little bit about Kestrel bikes. When and by whom was Kestrel founded? What was the first frame? And what does ‘Kestrel’ mean?
Kestrel was founded in 1987 by a couple of guys who were really smart! The company first produced the Kestrel 4000 and we continue the heritage today. The Kestrel is a wicked fast bird that is well respected in the bird world that the other birds are admire and strive to be one day.
2) Kestrel is now owned by Advanced Sports. When and how did that come to be and how does Kestrel fit into the Advanced Sports family?
Kestrel was purchased by Advanced Sports International in 2007. Kestrel has been on an up and down over the years and we purchased it to rebuild it back to the premier brand it once was. Kestrel supports the ASI other brands as a high end boutique brand that works only with carbon fiber. It also is the first brand we work with that is sold both in stores and online.
3) With the new Kestrel 4000, you now have a UCI legal time trial bike. Was that the motivation behind the design of the bike? Is the hope that, with the Kestrel 4000 in your arsenal of bikes that Kestrel will have a bigger presence in pro cycling? And one day sponsor a tour team??
You nailed it. We want to expand into pro cycling and with our line of bikes we had, we couldn’t do that. I’m also a wind tunnel nut and wanted to design a bike that was faster than our Kestrel Airfoil. What the 4000 represents is the latest technology Kestrel has to offer for the Triathlete as well as conforms to the UCI regulations. We are fortunate that our sister company Fuji let us test the Kestrel 4000 out with the Footon Servetto team.
4) As Kestrel Brand Manager, you are the face of Kestrel bikes. How did you end up at Kestrel? What did you do prior to working for Kestrel?
Scary that I’m the face of Kestrel. I have more of a radio face But seriously, I’ve been in the cycling industry since I was 14 when I started racing bikes. I’ve used to own Steve’s Multisport, one of the first Triathlon stores in the USA, and was the founder of Elite Bicycles. I sold both businesses and set out to get a “real” job. After 3 weeks, I realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I joined ASI 5 years ago and when we purchased Kestrel, I took over managing the brand. It’s the coolest job making wicked fast bikes. I travel all over the world, visit wind tunnels, meet really cool athletes like yourself, and really enjoy what I do.
5) What are your hobbies outside of your obvious passion for cycling?
Outside of work? You mean after the 70 hours I typically put in at work? I spend most of my free time with my son Jesse. He’s my rock star! Other than that, I really enjoy long walks on the beach, sunsets, cute girls Oh, and I’m single so feel free to find me a date.
6) What is your favorite Kestrel bike and why?
Has to be the 4000 although the new RT1000 that I will show in a few weeks is right up there. These are the first 2 bikes I had total control over and designed with my team. The 4000 has a year and a half of my time invested in it, lots of trips to the A2 Wind Tunnel so IF I had to pick one, that would be the bike.
7) What differentiates Kestrel from all the other tri bikes on the market these days?
There are a lot of tri bikes out there and I think everyone is doing a good job. Kestrel is pushing the technology barrier and really spending time balancing product with aerodynamics and Fit. Fit is so important and I think some companies overlook that aspect of building a bike. Plus there’s me. I still am the guy talking with customers, answering emails, traveling to races to meet Kestrel customers. I think having someone you can call about anything Kestrel is very important!
The release of the Kestrel 4000 has been a much anticipated and exciting step for the brand. What’s next for Kestrel??
Well, the RT1000 is coming out soon. We are pushing hard into the road market with some very cool designed bikes for 2011. I’m already working on 2012 and Kestrel will be expanding into some new categories. We are also working with some new carbon technology that will be completely unique to Kestrel that we will have ready in 2012. Other than product, we are expanding my travel so I can visit more Kestrel dealers, athletes and expos. I am really looking to visit as many places as I can to keep in touch with the end user of Kestrel.
9) Who is your favorite pro triathlete? …..meaning your favorite female pro triathlete? ….I mean, your favorite female pro triathlete from New England……who rides a Kestrel…..and is currently under the age of 40? DO I NEED TO MAP IT OUT FOR YOU ANY CLEARER??
Hmm, Smyers? You had me at “you really need to sponsor me” when we met in HI 2 years ago. I figured if you had the guts to be direct with asking, you definitely were worth sponsoring. Plus, your husband is cool so IF I ever get sick of you, I can always hang with Dave and your dog
Well, the 8% and 5% rules were short lived. WTC has recently come out with some amendments to those rules; though no really amendments as they look nothing like the originals. As always, the new rules are not without controversy.
Fortunately, WTC solicited feedback. Whether they listen, truly, or not, is to be determined. I certainly hope they do.
Here is what I had to say to WTC. Feel free to comment. The only way these rules will be good and lasting is if they are well thought thru, and thoroughly debated.
Hello,
I am emailing to offer my feedback on the new, proposed WTC policies with respect to qualification for Kona and Clearwater, and on other corresponding policies.
Let me start by saying that I applaud WTC for giving the professionals the opportunity to comment on the rules that will shape the future of our sport. I realize that WTC is under no obligation to open these proposals up for comment, but as a professional who has significantly altered her professional life in dedication to this sport, I appreciate the opportunity to provide input and I truly hope WTC listens to some of the concerns as well as some of the applause.
I like the ranking system. I like it better than the existing 5% and 8% rules. I think it allows for athletes to earn their place in the World Championships by demonstrating great performance; not just on one day, but all year long.
That said, I do have some concerns with the proposed plan.
• Weighting of points – I don’t think the points reward outstanding performance aptly. I think an Ironman win in ANY scenario is worth more points than the current proposal awards. I think a top-10 finish in Kona is worthy of a heavier weighting as well. I think it’s stunning that a 10th place finish in the world is worth only 200 points more than a 10th place finish in a “Championship” Ironman. Take, for example, this weekend’s IM-Frankfurt “European Championship”. 14 women entered. I think it’s a gross injustice that the 10th place finisher there is awarded only 200 points fewer than the 10th place finisher in our World Championship will be awarded. While still a Championship race, it is simply not of the same caliber (quality or quantity) field as the World Championship. The athletes in the top 10 in Kona have bested the rest of the world on what each athlete targets as his or her best day of that year. I think those performances need greater recognition.
• Ironman points vs 70.3 points – I realize that many of us who are more “Ironman specialists” still race 70.3 races frequently, however, I think that the current points comparison between 70.3 points and full Ironman points rewards the 70.3 athlete more than the Ironman athlete. You simply earn too many points for 70.3 performances that contribute to qualification for a full Ironman World Championship. This is qualification for an Ironman, and as such, I think the Ironman points contributions should be much greater than the 70.3 points contributions; not necessarily in terms of the number of 70.3 races that can contribute to the points total, but to the points that are awarded at 70.3 races. I think that the math should be calculated such that a top-10 finish in Kona coupled with a top 2 or 3 finish in an in-season Ironman ought to be enough to get an athlete to Kona. I think that athlete is more deserving than an athlete who perhaps, even wins 3 70.3 races. It appears from the new policies that Ironman points don’t even contribute to an athlete qualifying for Clearwater, so why should the 70.3 points have such a heavy weighting in an athlete qualifying for Kona? I also think that any Ironman win ought to be sufficient qualification for Kona, regardless of the “Championship”, “$75,000” or “$25,000” designation.
• Tiered Ironmans – I don’t understand this one at all. A $25,000 Ironman? Really? I think that prize purse is far too low for the effort that goes into an Ironman. ANY Ironman. I think that by categorizing these events as such, you will lose quality fields at $25,000 Ironman races. I think it’s also tragic that athletes who have built a loyalty to a “potential” $25,000 Ironman (Bella Bayliss to IM-South Africa, Belinda Granger to IM-Malaysia, myself to IM-Brazil); those loyalties speak to the strength of the race, it’s fans, it’s organizers and the entire community where Ironman’s are held. By banishing Ironman races to the $25,000 category, those loyalties will be lost. It simply isn’t worth the expense of travel, and the few dollars in prize money, and points. For relationships like that to be lost, I think would be tragic and, in the long run, would hurt the “smaller” Ironman races.
• Clarity of process – I think for this points system to work, it is essential that the rankings are made public, are updated accurately (the points example in the email that was distributed had mathematical errors in it – clearly in a “real world” scenario, such mathematical errors would be unacceptable) each weekend following every competition and furthermore, that WTC go back to publicizing pro start lists in advance. This gives every athlete a fair and equal shake at knowing where they stand, who their immediate points competition is and where they are racing. It could lead to some amazing late season head to head points competitions amongst athletes who are “on the bubble”. If I may, transparency has not been one of WTC’s strengths, to date. So I implore you to make this process as open and transparent as possible. It will ensure a “fair fight” for points.
• Timing – September 1 is simply too late a deadline to allow the professionals adequate time to prepare physically or logistically. Lodging in Kona is difficult to come by. If, as a pro, you don’t know if you are competing or not until 9/1, the logistics of planning a trip are virtually impossible. Trip insurance on a plane ticket and rental car is one thing, but with lodging, many rentals are arranged with individual owners. There is no way to recoup that expense, should an athlete be left out, nor is there any way to find reasonable lodging one month before the competition date. I think the points cutoff ought to be made earlier. Either that, or guarantee that the top 25 by July 1 are guaranteed their slot, and the remaining qualifiers will battle it out until September 1. Either that, or shift the entire calendar to a July 1 to July 1 points basis. These potential solutions clearly have shortcomings as well, but I just don’t think it is reasonable for an athlete to not know if they are competing in a World Championship until a month before hand. The preparation that goes into such an effort from a training and psychological perspective, not to mention a logistical perspective cannot be discounted.
• Wild Card – This policy irks me. What all these policies are doing is holding professionals to a higher standard. I think, for the most part, the professional applaud that. Yet simultaneously, WTC has the right to hand pick an athlete who is not to be held to that same standard? Rubbish! Giving an athlete an exemption due to injury, illness or other life tragedy, or even to pregnancy; there is precedent for that. Yet the policy specifically says that the Wild Card is NOT for that purpose. It seems arbitrary, and inequitable. If a higher standard is what WTC asks of its pros, then it should be asked of ALL of its pros. Save your Wild Card for the age group ranks. Invite whomever you like to race in the age group. Let the pros who have equally earned their right to compete, compete.
• 3 year exemption – This policy impacts so few people, it seems silly to mention it, but I feel compelled to anyway. Ironman World Champions are special. And I think they ought to be treated as such. Mandating former World Champions to the Age Group ranks eliminates the opportunity for athletes like Michellie Jones, Karen Smyers and Natasha Badmann from toeing the line in Kona. They cannot compete as age groupers as they are registered pros. Yet their invitation to race as pros is no longer valid. These athletes may have lost their “marketability” to WTC as champions who are past their prime, but to the current athletes who have been inspired by these champions, I believe that having these athletes continue to race in the pro ranks, if they so choose, adds value to the race. Retired former Champions? Sure – they can race with the age groupers if they like. But for current card carrying professionals, they have earned that right to compete amongst the pros regardless of whether they won last year, 5 years ago or 10 years ago. Former champions deserve a spot amongst the pros, if they choose, and should NOT be included in the 50/30 count.
• Logistics – what happens in the event of a rankings tie?
• Logistics - When will races be categorized into the breakdown of Championship vs $75,000 vs $25,000. And how do new races get categorized. Does every IM start as a $25,000 and hopefully grow up to be a $75,000? I think, honestly, there should be WC races, Championship races and the rest are equal. That seems more fair to me, but if not, when will those distinctions be made and how does a race change category?
• Logistics – 50/30 division – how were these ratios determined? How will they change with time?
• Drug testing – The top 20 in world rankings ought to automatically be included in the WTC out of competition testing pool.
• Growth in popularity of the sport – these rules limit an athletes ability to race in races outside of WTC races. I think that’s tragic and will ultimately stifle the growth in the sport. These new race series aren’t competitors to WTC races….WTC is clearly the big fish, but it’s a big ocean and there is plenty of room for other series offering not competing races, but alternative races. These policies don’t allow for professionals to race in other series and that is unfortunate, and ultimately will not enhance the growth in our sport.
In short, I like the points system, but I think it needs to be re-calculated to put the emphasis in the proper places. I also think that in order for these new rules to work; truly work, this process needs to be thoughtful and deliberate, not rushed. It seems that the reason WTC is reworking the 5% and 8% rule is that 1) in retrospect, they may not have produced the results WTC had hoped and 2) they were tremendously unpopular. In an effort to develop a set of rules that work, have athlete and sponsor support, and will correctly produce the result that WTC desires, I beg you to take the time to shape these rules properly. I realize WTC is under no obligation to hear any of this input. I know for certain that the pros appreciate this opportunity to make comment. Current athlete and input on whatever committee decides these issues would be a HUGE step toward a process where everyone wins.
Thank you for the opportunity to express my thoughts.
Dede Griesbauer
Where does it all go? All that juicy fitness I busted my butt from November to May to build? One Ironman race. One easy recovery week of about 5-6 hours of training. And suddenly I don’t even feel like an athlete anymore.
Shameful.
Depressing.
Reality.
So after my week “off”, I’ve gotten back to work. The first week? OK, I could laugh it off as easy as the next guy; extraordinary case of squat-ass (now an honest to goodness medical condition, thanks to Kevin Burns….I knew you were on my side!), Z1 paces that were off the charts (and not the right end of the chart), Z1 wattage that couldn’t fuel a pen light……sure, it’s easy to laugh. …..for the first week.
Now into the second week, and I am starting to feel like the joke is on me. Though there are signs of hope.
Last week, I went out for a 35’ ZR run. ZR is really easy. “Stupid easy” as my coach calls it. My max HR for ZR is sometimes achieved just standing up from the couch, so you get my drift on how slow ZR is on most days. Anyway, last week, I said to DaveyG, “Hey, I am doing an easy run. Wanna come?”
DaveyG and I don’t often get to train together, so with me just coming back from an Ironman and DaveyG getting his legs back under him after a couple months of not being able to train, it was a perfect opportunity for both of us to suck together.
We set out, and before I knew it, “Sorry, babe. I have to slow down. Too fast.” So we slowed down. 30 seconds later, “Sorry…..still to fast.”
This continued for the first 20’ of the run. I kept looking at my HR. “Crap, too fast”. Slow down. “Crap, too fast.” Slow down.
I actually started feeling bad for Dave. Could we run ANY slower? I kept apologizing for how slow I had to run. DaveyG, as always, so supportive. “You have to start somewhere. This really isn’t that slow,” he said, as a woman in a business suit and 3 inch heals walked buy us, while talking on her cell phone. And sipping a non-fat, no whip, soy latte.
This week, DaveyG came with me again. Same drill. 35 minute run. Zone R. About 12 minutes in, we actually PASSED someone! (and exchanged a celebratory fist bump). In all, 4 people passed during our ZR run last night! 4!!!! AND, we averaged 1:03 per MILE faster than a week ago, at the same HR.
So no; don’t think I’ll be busting out a sub 4:00 mile any time soon, but hey, it’s progress and we all gotta start (back) somewhere!
Some new toys added to my stock this week!
Brand new, GORGEOUS Kestrel 4000. (kiss, kiss). LOVE this bike. Feels great, handles better, fits best ever. And let’s face it…..it’s hot!
Then, because my life isn’t filled with enough torture, Coach Jesse “suggested” these: Power Cranks. Imagine the hours of torture, the 4-letter expletives, the paralyzed hip flexor muscles. I had my first ride on them just this morning….you know….to see how long I could make it. Didn’t bother putting bike shorts on. Didn’t figure I’d be riding that long. Yep. 5 minutes, 22 seconds. I know. I’m a rock star.
So yeah, the weeks of post-Ironman aren’t the most satisfying, the most confidence instilling, the most impressive displays of athleticism. Still, when DaveyG sits down to a steak dinner, and I get to look over at this face…..I know, there’s no place like home and it’s good to be back home and into the swing of things.
So I made it home from Brazil. Sounds simple enough. All you gotta do is sit on a plane, right?
Not when traveling with “The Travel Gods Must Hate You Griesbauer”.
Somehow my travel plans called for a 10 hour layover in the Sao Paulo airport. Clearly my travel agent (me) wasn’t thinking when I booked these tickets. Still, facing a 10 hour layover, I was armed with the most valuable asset a traveler could have; an Admiral’s Club Membership!
Prior to my trip, I’d consulted with Admiral’s Club staff (both the customer service call in center, and in person at the Miami club on my outbound flight…..I’m anal that way – like to double check EVERYthing. Not proud…..just sayin’….) Because the Admiral’s Club is on the other side of security, and because the American Airlines employees don’t get to the check-in counter until 4PM, I needed to figure out how to pass security so that I could sit in the far comfier Admiral’s Club, complete with free wireless, and more importantly, free food and drink! Both my sources confirmed; so long as I had pre-printed my boarding pass, I’d be fine to clear security and relax in relative tranquility.
Pre-printing a boarding pass seemed easy enough, but because the travel gods hate me, our hotel had no internet access the last 24 hours I was there, so I dragged my new favorite friends, Justin and Jason, to an internet café at 11:30 PM (I wasn’t real thrilled to be wandering out alone that late at night) to procure said boarding pass.
So with boarding pass in hand, I could nearly taste the delightful little finger sandwiches they serve in the Admiral’s Club. I was off the core for the week, so for once, I was anticipating getting to eat what looked good, instead of laboring over the CHO content and how eating whatever I was contemplating eating would throw my numbers for the week.
And as quickly as I could say “finger sandwich”, my plan was thwarted. The security guard looked at my boarding pass and started saying in Portuguese, “No free food and drink for you.” At least that’s what it sounded like to me.
I was turned away. I went to the AA ticket counter and was met by the most rude woman I think I have ever met in my life. I explained my situation to her and despite the huge sign in the ticket office that said “Admiral’s Club; available all day”, I was made to understand that what the sign really meant was “Available all day, but here in Brazil, “all day” means only after 4PM, so despite the fact that you've paid a hefty membership fee to utilize this service, it's a service we are going to provide you access to only sporadically, even though we've told you otherwise, so settle in, sweetheart. You are stuck in the plastic chairs, without internet access, and there’s a McDonnalds in terminal 2”.
Right then.
I was pissed. And I sent a strongly worded email to the Admiral’s Club (for which I paid nearly $10USD for internet access in an internet café). That didn’t make me feel that much better, so I wandered to McDonnalds and had a McFlurry and that helped soothe the beast a little.
I did ultimately make it home, after some 27 hours of travel. My bike arrived after some 33 hours of travel.
My “down week” which wasn’t “down” as in sad or bad, but down in terms of training which means not off, but light, was busy. Wednesday, I took a nap and did laundry. Thursday, I re-assembled my bike, did more laundry, and in general, got stuff put away. By Friday, I was on the road again; off to the Rev3 Quassy race where I’d been invited to do live commentary on the women’s pro race.
The travel gods kicked in again in Connecticut, as when I arrived, I found that I didn’t have a hotel room. “Clerical error”. I wasn’t on the list, and was told there were no rooms, when in fact, there were 9 available. While I was slightly panicked, as after calls to 6 other hotels, I was still shut out, I tried to look on the bright side; at least I could speak the language. Getting out of a travel pinch when you are fluent in the language you are trying to speak is loads easier than when you can’t speak or understand what is being spoken to you.
In the end, the travel gods took pity and I found an available room in a hotel that was a mere 3 miles from the race site. Happy day!
The Rev3 race was fun; though I learned I much prefer being a part of the action and not describing the action!
And before I knew it, it was Monday; back on the core (no more McFlurry), back to a full training load. In honor of day 1, I was greeted with 5 x 800 in the pool on Monday morning.
It’s amazing to me how quickly it feels like the fitness disappears. When a mere week before, I clobbered the swim course in Brazil with complete easy, yet during my 5 x 800 main set, I got suddenly panicky after 3, looking nervously about the pool deck for a life guard.
Day 1 got a little worse when I headed back to the gym to start our heavy lifting phase all over again. The 3rd exercise on the list? 3 x 3 chin ups. Or in my case, 1 chin up, and then the hang. Oy. A wake up call that we are firmly back at square one!
But after day 1, there is a day 2. And while day 2 has met me with a soreness from day 1, rendering me near useless, I have to laugh (well, not really, because my abs are so sore, it hurts to laugh)….we have to start somewhere! And it’s all about the journey!
I just sent an email to my very good friend, Karen Smyers. She was telling me about her most recent race which didn't knock her socks off, so I was trying to make her feel better by telling her about my travel experience to Brazil. After writing the email, I decided it was blog worthy.....
It's funny to me. I get, "Wow, you are a pro triathlete? That is so cool" a lot. And they are right....it is. Mostly. But like most realities, you take the good with the bad and try not to be so freaking out about it. (that last sentence will be funny later, I promise)
So this is my tale....my tale of travel.
My trip rather sucked. Though now that it's done, its all fine, which, when you think about it...most things that suck do. Oh, sure, I got an upgrade and all, so there was that. I got to sit in the "pointy end" as my friend JJ calls it. The pointy end is nice, but when you are on the Core Diet and can't drink all the alcohol you want, eat the fresh baked chocolate chip cookie, or the ice cream sundae, it's not really that spectacular. In fact, by the time they go to me to take my dinner order, my choice was gone, and all that was left was the pasta. NOT Core Diet friendly. So 2 salads, and one shrimp appetizer (literally....ONE SHRIMP) and that was my first class meal experience.
Still, I had a reasonably nice cushy seat, and managed a few winks of sleep.
Things got ugly when we landed in Sao Paulo. I got off the plane in Sao Paulo with only 90' until my connection to Florianopolis. Should have been enough time. SHOULD have. I am at the end of the ramp and we get held by some government official saying that if you aren't a Brazilian citizen, you have to wait. So they let all the Brazilians off our plane....and every other plane that landed between 5:30 and 6:15 AM (which, given the line at passport control, was quite a few). They were doing some crackdown on Brazilian counterfeit passports. Or so we were told.
So we stood in line for 30' before we were even allowed to get into the passport line. By that point, every other plane had let their non-Brazilian citizens off the plane and our plane was literally last in a very long line. I tried to tell someone that I had a tight connection. They cared so much about my sob story, that they told me (literally) "You should not be so freaking out. Just wait here." I finally found an American Airlines agent who told me not to worry. That they'd confirmed me on an 11AM flight on GOL airlines, since it seemed likely I was going to miss my 7:45 TAM flight. I started to feel better and waited in line with the 40 million other people.
I got thru passport control, managed to find my luggage which was somehow spread across 4 different corners of the baggage claim area, then had to snake thru yet another queue about 87 snakes, back and forth, back and forth....with a huge suitcase, my bike box, which while it does its job, does not have the turning radius of ....well, a dime, and a wheel bag....I was sweating bullets and had knocked over every barricade stand by the time I got to the customs guy.
Finally outside customs, I was able to get a skycap guy who spoke no English, but did speak Spanish, so I got to wow him with my 3 years of high school Spanish. No wonder he looked at me funny so many times. I probably asked him to roller-skate my refrigerator to the barn instead of help me with my luggage to the ticket office.
I got to the American Airlines ticket office and re-encountered the woman who told me not to be "freaking out so much" who told me that I was no longer confirmed on the 11 am GOL flight. She said "That just happens sometimes." I told her that "confirmed" must mean different things in Brazil than it does in America. She didn't think that was funny. Instead, she suggested I get on a city bus and go to the other airport to get on a 12:45 TAM flight because the 3:45 TAM flight was full, so that was my only hope. Of course, I thought that was hysterical....what with carrying some 200 lbs of luggage with me. I told her that I'd been mugged walking 2 blocks from a internet café to my hotel and that I thought worse things might become of me if I tried to venture on a city bus with 200 lbs of non-space efficient luggage.
She seemed to understand my predicament, and then suggested that I just spend the night in the Sao Paulo airport and try again tomorrow.
That is when I lost my sense of humor over the situation and started to be so freaking out again.
I decided to revisit the "confirmed" yet "not confirmed" issue. She told me that the GOL flight was full, but said maybe if you go and buy a ticket they will let you. I asked how I was going to buy a ticket on a full flight. She said "that's just how it works sometimes."
And I thought airline travel in the US was FUBAR.
So I went to GOL with my Spanish speaking friend and tried to buy a new ticket on their airline. She said that there was room. Then I asked how come there is room but that they wouldn't honor my TAM ticket when American Airlines had said that they would. She said "we just do that sometimes. We are really competitive with TAM so we don't like to do that."
We went on like this for some time, when finally, exhausted, and starting to "freaking out" again, I just said to hell with it and bought a new ticket.
After I bought the ticket, she said, "Now wait here. I have to see if your luggage will fit."
Come again?
"Yes. Your bike box is very large. I don't know if we can fit it on our plane."
I asked why we hadn't had that conversation before I purchased the ticket. She smiled and said "Don't worry."
Envisioning the city bus scenario, I wondered how much it would cost me to have my Spanish speaking Brazilian friend come with me on the city bus to help me with my luggage. Likely less than the GOL option was costing, but I had already bought the ticket, and something told me that their refund policy might be only slightly more strict than their policy of honoring fares with TAM.
She returned saying that my bicycle could fly with me. She went on to say that they weren't going to charge me for the bicycle because American had already done that. My only "win" of the day.
I did arrive in Florianopolis and more shockingly....WITH all of my luggage. So that's good.
I hate to be Chicken Little, or Eeyore, but stuff like this always seems to happen to me.
Just waiting for the other shoe to fall...................but that's what makes this life so fabulous!
OK, I don’t really know if it was my 642nd epic ride…but what the heck.
By the numbers:
1: Number of times I cried during this ride last year.
0: Number of times I cried during the ride this year. SCORE!
3: Number of rain storms I got caught in during my ride.
1: Number of afore mentioned rainstorms that also included hail.
1938: The approximate model year of the rusted to bits VW bug I shared a car port with during said hail storm.
14: Average wind speed during my ride (confirmed by accuweather.com)
25: Gusting wind speed
0: number of times I tucked into the pace line to dodge the winds. SOLO RIDE BABY! Makes you strong! (OK, the honest truth is that no one wanted to come with me today, so I had no choice but to go solo. That’s the honest truth.)
8: Ounces of Red Bull consumed during epic ride. (I’m trying to cut back)
4: Number of wrong turns.
1: Number of angry dogs encountered.
67: Number of times I cursed my coach for imposing epic ride less than 60 minutes prior to ride time.
68: Number of times I cursed myself for telling coach about existence of epic ride loop.
6: Bottles of Infinit “Dede’s Drink” blend consumed during epic ride.
2: Times I had to pee because of afore mentioned bottles of “Dede’s Drink”.
98: Number of songs I listened to on my iPod (inside ear only, people! And reasonable volume control! Safety first!)
64: number of bugs stuck to me at end of epic ride (good day to ride with the mouth closed).
3: Number of bird sized large bugs I had high speed face and or head collisions with. OUCH.
8: Number of motorcycles I saw during epic ride.
12: Number of times I wished I was on a motorcycle.
12: Number of times I apologized to my AirFoil for wishing it was a motorcycle. ( I do love you little Airfoil!)
10: Minimum number of hours I will sleep tonight (assuming 8 ounces of Red Bull fully metabolized and out of system) in order to get ready for epic run focus day tomorrow.
The release of the Kestrel 4000 has been a much anticipated and exciting step for the brand. What’s next for Kestrel??
And I sent a strongly worded email to the Admiral’s Club (for which I paid nearly $10USD for internet access in an internet café). That didn’t make me feel that much better, so I wandered to McDonnalds and had a McFlurry and that helped soothe the beast a little. 
Day 1 got a little worse when I headed back to the gym to start our heavy lifting phase all over again. The 3rd exercise on the list? 3 x 3 chin ups. Or in my case, 1 chin up, and then the hang. Oy. A wake up call that we are firmly back at square one! 