Friday night in Penticton

I opted out of the pasta dinner tonight, as I had planned, and went and grabbed dinner with my mom at the Ramada. It was a whole lot nicer to spend some relaxed time with her. I am excited about seeing everybody, but I think that the time to catch up will be after the race is over, not now. It's just too hyped up right now around town.

So, I have retreated back to the motel room to rest and relax, work on my bike, and then start a ritual that I'll explain in a moment.

First, though, I went and dropped $70 on inner tubes, CO2 cartridges, new cleats for my bike shoes, and some sunscreen today at the expo. I am getting my bike comlpetely race ready tonight so that I don't have to mess with it tomorrow, and I needed a couple of extra supplies. I didn't anticipate spending $70 on anything, but when I saw the cleats, I realized how old mine were. Mind as well get new ones! When I saw the sunscreen, I was marvelled at it's "only alcohol-free spray on"-ness (it's from Kinesys) and "made in Canada-ness"... Dropped $40 on those two items alone.

See, THAT'S why we stay away from the expo!

After the bike cleanse, I shall start officially diving into my metrosexual "manscaping" routine.... That's right, shaving the legs... The one iconic activity that defines the male triathlete.

There are a lot of arguments for the whys of shaving legs. There's the obvious ones like it's easier to scrape off the road rash, it's better for massages, it's more aerodynamic, etc. But I don't know if the advantages are really quantifiable when you're at my athletic level. Really... I'll give you the road rash one, though, from experience, as during my crash in Osoyoos having no hair on the legs made it much easier to clean up after.

But, when it comes down to it, there are two reasons: 1) It puts one in the fraternity of triathletes, because you never truly fit in until you do this silly spectacle, and 2) it feels like a pre-competition ritual that makes me "feel" like an athlete. And, if for no other reason, #2 makes sense, then I'm all for it.

And so, razor in one hand and shaving cream in the other, I shall head to the shower for the pre-race paving...

Finally, this evening, another round in the hot tub!