Dad Enjoys Sunny Skies

After pulling an all-nighter to get ready for his trip, Dad was off to California Friday morning. (One of the agreements for his road trips is to make sure Mom and the girls have a full-stocked fridge before he leaves.)

His 6:45 a.m. flight was expected to be uneventful. The captain even told passengers before takeoff that the one hour and 15 minute flight would be smooth, with no turbulence. A half-hour later, Dad awoke to the sounds of a flight attendant screaming "Seatbelts! Seatbelts!" over the PA. The turbulence that wasn't supposed to be an issue was shaking the plane like a thrill park ride. But it didn't phase Dad, who went back to sleep.

That is, until a major "thump" bumped him awake. More turbulence? No, just the touchdown in Denver. A half-hour later, he was boarding a 777 for the second leg of the trip to San Francisco. Once on the ground in California, he called the girls to check in.

"Did you use the bathroom on the plane?," Julia asked. "Don't forget to buy souvenirs," Lauren said. "Veronica threw up in her bed last night," Mom said. (That figures.)

The rest of Dad's first day in San Francisco was spent meeting team members, getting his credentials for the race and . He also wrote several stories (the ones for the Toyota-United website aren't yet posted), which you can read here.

So when did it hit Dad that he's made the jump into the ranks of pro cycling? It was last night, on the way back from the Team Presentation ceremony. The car he was riding in came up on the other Toyota-United team cars driving ahead of him. He immediately thought to himself, 'There's Toyota-United's team car!,' before realizing he was riding in one, too.

What won't be elaborated on in this space was the daring driving manuever to dodge a bus stopped in traffic. Team Director Harm Jansen shot the gap with mere inches to spare. "Not professional," said one of the riders from the backseat after opening his eyes. A good point when you're driving a brightly-painted Toyota emblazoned with sponsor logos.