Planes, Bikes, and Automobiles

I've been riding the roller coaster for the last 5 days or so, and I now I think it's time to get off. On Thursday, I found myself facing a 150 mile bike ride (the MS-150) on Saturday despite not having gotten the bike out of the garage this year. Not only that, but the weekend weather was expected to be stormy with a significant headwind. Not only that, but I had to fly out to Dayton, OH on Sunday for a business trip post the 75 mile second leg. Not only that, but we were supposed to squeeze in a visit with some friends post-ride pre-flight.

Thursday was a rough day. I made a panicky run to the local bike shop to get a tune up and some new pedals and 'trained' by riding around the block a couple of times. Friday morning I got up, packed for the ride, packed for my Dayton trip, went to work, then drove up to Duluth with Kim. Despite all odds, the bike trip didn't kill me, and I met my original sponsorship goal (thanks very much sponsors!) The weather held out and I had a great time, aside from a very sore derriere.

After finishing Sunday, I ran home, showered, swapped suitcases, and was back out the door within 30 minutes (a new record). We hung out with Dave, Becky, and Marcellus Krueger for a few hours, including a perfectly-timed and theraputic hot tub soak, then ran off to the airport for travel leg #2.

Off to scenic Dayton, OH, home of the narrowest stretch of interstate in the contiguous United States. Seriously, I felt like I had driven into the Death Star trench scene. They've been doing road construction on I-70 for at least the last three years and it seems to get worse each trip. You get your two lanes, each big enough for a Mini Cooper, with no shoulder, threaded between two 7' concrete barriers whose damage and streaks provide ample reminders of previous accidents. Add a steady stream of semis and a little rain and you have a drive that is guaranteed to keep you wide awake, even after a red-eye.

My meeting wasn't until 1:00 PM so I slept in on Monday until 8:30 - ah, the decadence! After a little bit of coding & checking in with the mother ship, I headed off to WPAFB. Despite a few wrong turns (including an embarrassing U-turn at the wrong gate after talking to a somewhat excitable gentleman from the Air Force), I reached the meeting about 20 minutes early. It went well, though I was trying to stifle yawns due to my whacked out schedule.

This morning I got up at 5:00 AM to fly back, but I have been denied. I made it through the I-70 trench and was feeling pretty good about life as I pulled close to the airport. But then...

There are many reasons that the Dayton airport sucks, but today I'll focus on three in particular:

1. There are no gas stations to fill up your rental car near the airport
2. There is no full-time ticketing agent at the Northwest counter
3. There are TWO Hertz rental care return sites approximately 2 miles apart and the first one that you are directed to by the airport signage is NOT the "airport" Hertz.

Combine 1, 2, and 3 and a balky credit card that could not be read by the self check-in kiosk and you have a recipe for disaster. After missing my flight, I have the whole day to experience the various and (I'm certain) superlative pleasures of the Dayton airport. Without an available ticketing agent, it is not even possible to rail at the injustice of the situation except to you, dear readers. Apparently there will be an agent here later, so I'm sure I'll get home though probably a little lighter in the pocket book.

Hopefully things will calm down a bit this week and I'll get a little bit better handle on life.