Blog Dawg

A few updates from 33,000 feet above the tarmacs of Spokane and Las Vegas. I was reminded on the trip from Sea-Tac that all these air miles are connected by mountains in the sky. The tops of great rock formations, as old as time herself. When they punch through the cottontail white puffy clouds, I sit (with tray table up and seat back locked) in total and complete awe.

I wrote a couple of rhyming couplets in the hopes of a hit song but couldn't get past the cringe of pairing 'sky' with 'fly' seven syllables further. One of these days something resembling the profound might just escape the solitary confinement of my tortured lyricist soul. As the VBA is acutely aware, this is not an event for which one holds breath.

We are en route to Vegas for the Grand Fondo on Saturday, 100 torrid miles from the Strip to Red Rocks. I will report more on the route and ramp-up tomorrow, but the plan is to start early, 0800 maybe, and get in the century shoot in five hours, in order to break some local speed limits to get to McCarrin in time for an upgrade to the 1335 flight to LAX. This is a reward I am going to allow myself this one time. IF (always big) I can kill the 100 miles with flawless HD capture and grab the requisite GPS without nary a glitch, I will catch an earlier flight and drive directly from LAX to the Colosseum, score a ducat from a scalper and watch the Huskies play USC at 5.

What a reward it would be to see the Dawgs do to the Trojans on real grass what they did to them last year on turf. Or, I'll keep my $59 ticket and be a good BlogDawg, and write sweet nothings to you.

Then, if for no other reason than practicing my fiction writing, after capping the post game victory celebration at midnight, Sunday we head down to Venice beach at 0500 to met with my moto pilot for the LA Triathlon. Shoot the swim with perfect hissing six foot lefts behind, nail the 40K bike from VB to Stapes Center, grab some downtown run action (replete with a rack focus from Dodger Stadium to a triathlete finishing with a kick) and then back to Debbie's for a nap before meeting up with Chris for dinner.

Out to Kona at 10 the following morning, where the 'Ten Questions" script for Simon's UK triathletes needs to be formulated prior to touchdown. And then its race week in Kona, spectacle unto itself in the most magic of islands. We will be doing twice a day blogs from Kona at the very least, so if your are a fan of Ironman, this is hallowed ground, the lava field personal playground of gods from Allen, Scott, Newby-Fraser and Pele. I will tally them tonight but I think this will be my 10th covering of the Big Dance. And know what? I can't wait. Let it be known: RCVman hearts the Big Island. Additionally, if the week goes as well as we have it scripted, other rewards are pending. A skateboard to get up and down Alii Dr. all week and a koa uke. Then I will sing my silly songs of magic mountain tops with a gnarly ukulele solo as bridge to the refrain.

That's about it gang, three big events on the horizon. We'll take them one at a time and keep you abreast of all the exciting details and behind the scenes action as it unfolds.

I am also going to try to bust that inner, imprisoned lyricist out of the slammer.

Wish me luck, Chuck.