Chattanooga Part 1: INCH! LIGHTS!

WOW, what an unbelievable weekend!  Right away I want to give mad props to Chris Sweet for finding a picture perfect crib for the weekend right on the Tennessee River.  The only thing that would have enhanced our stay there would have been a Bigfoot sighting.  Also want to give a serious shout out to Andy Sweet, the HUB gang, as well as Q-Roo for all the preparation and hospitality, you guys really took that trip to the next level!

So the weekend started with a very tiring Redeye flight from Seattle --> Chicago --> Chattanooga.  Boy do those flights really take it out of you, luckily i was able to sprawl out at O'Hare for a nice 2 hr nap because i had a 3 hr layover.  That was just what i needed to recharge my batteries and prepare for what laid ahead.  Luckily for me, I had no idea what I was up against, and I was about to have my mind blown!

(Can you Dig it?)

Got into Chattanooga a hair before noon, and Andy was there to pick me up and take me back to the shop to hang out till the rest of the Evotri gang arrived.  When we got to the shop, Andy showed me around the place, and introduced me to 2 of the greatest things ever to reside in the HUB Endurance Shot... a kegerator and BOOM MY NEW BIKE!!!  Un frickin believable!  That was love at first sight.  Unbelievable!  I was not prepared for that at all.  That baby was decked out, baller new Zipp Firecrest 808s, New and improved cyclops powertap, full set of Sram Force components, and lastly the sexiest frame you have ever seen, the QuintanaRoo CD.01 Evotri Edition!  Sick half matte half shiny finish, perfect integration of Evotri red within a flawless aerodynamic design.  My heart stopped when Andy told me that was mine!  I had to sit down and have a nice cold beer from the kegerator to bring me back to reality.  WOW I am a lucky man.  Thank you Zipp/Sram/HUB/QRoo/Cyclops/

After a couple brews, I decided I still had a little bit of time before the team got in, so i was going to go for a run along the river trail and enjoy the picture perfect day.  75 and sunny, not a cloud in the sky!  Andys high school buddy Anthony tagged along on the run, and he showed me the ropes, telling me stories of the triathlon that starts in the local park, and any other exciting newsworthy local events that had taken place.  Anthony is what every active triathlete aspires to be, A stay at home dad! :)

After getting in 6miles and change we got back to HUB and got in our kegerator recovery drinks, changed and loaded up in the cars to go meet up with the rest of the gang at the crib.  At this point i was starting to get a little nervous.  JP had been a very close friend all throughout college, so I knew him, but outside of that I didn't know how the team would respond to me.  I felt like I was off to the first day of high school after moving school districts.

As the first 24 hours passed and I got to know and see what each team member was like, I realized, Hey, there is no point in being nervous around a team of people who are all kids at heart!  The conversations were amazing, right up my alley, the humor was perfect, the team camaraderie was off the charts.  You couldn't have hand selected a more well rounded group of people and have it be as ideal as this team is! 

After everyone had a few Reeces Candy Easter Eggs, Sour Patch Kids, and Lucky Charms Beer it was time for bed.  everyone was doing their own thing, brushing their teeth, watching tv, reading a kindle etc, and all of a sudden I heard: "INCH! LIGHTS!"  'INCH! LIGHTS"  After the 3rd heckle I realized that it wasnt going to stop unless I turned out the lights...Now I really feel like the "new kid" So i got up and turned off all the lights and got some shut eye.  Tomorrow is going to be a fun and exciting day, tour of the Q-Roo "Fantasy" Factory!

INCH! LIGHTS!!