Desiree Ficker!

I went to Jack and Adam's for my bike fit and Zane made a bunch of adjustments- lowered and moved the saddle back, moved the cleats on the shoes out, moved the brakes in, and moved the aero bar up. Throughout this adjustment, I'm sweating all over the place. I'm not working very hard, but it's always warm in the store, and I get nervous when people look at me. And then there's the constant stream of customers peaking into the fit area- they're getting pretty busy as the weather warms up. And who is one of their sponsored athletes who comes in to get an adjustment on her bike? Desiree Ficker!

I've seen her on TV- in the Kona Ironman where she placed second, and at the Olympic Marathon trials, and on the cover of Runner's World magazine. She is amazing! And now she's watching me on the bike! Of course, I do remember last year's CapTex, where I was so proud to have finished when a bunch of people dropped out due to heat exhaustion, and she was one of them. She could have finished on her hands and knees and still beat me, but that's beside the point. She didn't finish and I did. And apparently that's pretty common among professionals- once they realize they're not having a good enough day to finish in the money, they stop and conserve their resources for the next race when they could make some money. But then dropping out always gives you an option to do so, and it doesn't look very good either. But that's the life of a pro.


Anyway, I'm happy to get my bike adjusted and want to go for a ride this afternoon. I will never by a professional triathlete, but that's okay. I will also never be this guy either.