Gearing up for Portland

Elite Nationals are 2 days away. I'll be looking to defend my U23 triathlon title and should be in the mix for a top-10 finish overall if things go well. Sexton drove me to the airport yesterday morning and I caught a flight up to Portland. Getting to the Embassy Suites in Tigrad, OR was an adventure. I was originally told it would be a $60 cab ride to the hotel, but I was later informed that I could catch a train for $2.30 and it would take me to Beaverton, where a hotel shuttle would pick me up.

I bought a train ticket, which ended up only being $1.50 (because I said I was a student). I take the hour train ride to Beaverton and then call the hotel to come pick me up. No answer. I call again, and again, and again... I'm getting frustrated. My phone runs out of battery. None of the 3 pay phones at the train station work. I'm stranded. Suddenly I notice some thuggish looking teenagers following me. "Are they going to try to rob me in broad daylight?" I wondered. They didn't look particularly threatening but I could tell they were up to something. Finally one of them approaches me - he then tries to sell me some marijuana! I politely declined, and they went on looking for their next potential customer. It got me thinking - do I look like the kind of person who does that stuff?! I hope not... maybe it's time for a haircut. How can this day get any worse? I finally ask a local maintenance man how to get to my hotel. He points me in the direction of a crowded city bus. So I lug my 60 pound bike box and 2 big bags on board. The bus is pretty full and everybody is staring at me wondering "What's in the box". After another half hour ride the Embassy Suites finally comes into view. I was so relieved to finally get there. I guess for $1.50 I got my money's worth. However, my bad luck wasn't over.


I get into my hotel room (which I'll be splitting with Jarrod). It's quite pleasant. I open my bike box and am not happy to see that my whole canister of protein powder exploded. It's everywhere! In every crevice, in my bike chain, and in my rear derailleur. I was so frustrated at that point I just closed it back up, pretended it never happened, and decided to deal with it tomorrow... At least my applesauce was still intact.

Today wasn't nearly as bad. The hotel had a good complimentary breakfast (I got an omelet). I cleaned up my bike and bike box (but now the whole room smells like nasty protein powder). I found a pool about 4 miles away and rode my bike there, hopped in for a quick 2500 yards, and then did some efforts on the bike on the way back. So hopefully all this bad luck is out of my system.