First I’d like to thank Sandy for being an awesome chauffer and Mark for taking care of my bike!

Thankfully we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. While we were standing in line to check in, I realized (with a very loud gasp) that I was missing my transition bag. As everyone was staring at me, I called Sandy who then drove back to our house, got the bag, and drove all the way back to the airport. It wasn’t until we were on the plane that I realized I had also forgotten the screws for my rear wheel cover.

Mark, Cindy’s hubby who works for Allegiant, took very good care of my bike. I even got to see the underbelly of the plane where it was to be stored (it hadn’t been loaded yet). Last time we flew with bikes we took Allegiant and they rocked, which is why we flew with them again.

Wow! It fit a lot of stuff! Will it still look like this when I open it in Las Vegas...?

I managed to sleep a lot more then I had expected. The guy a row ahead of us and on the other side of the isle was VERY loud. A lady from a few rows back even complained about it on the way out. Still worth it for the bike care!

At the car rental place we had 2 SUVs to choose from. We decided on the Nissan Pathfinder instead of the Dodge thing (ugly). Right after we started to pull out, a Jeep Wrangler pulled in. It looked like the kind that you can take the top off, but Wes wouldn’t go for it because it was a 4-door.

We finally got to the hotel, walked around, gambled with the free money the hotel gave us, used the free drink coupon, found the pool, than went to bed. It was already 3am Iowa time.

For some reason, Wes was awake and ready to go at 7am! Usually I’m the one getting him out of bed. Put on our swimsuits, and sat in the hot tub. After a few minutes, I did some laps in the hotel pool.

Showered, then down for the breakfast buffet. We had a buy one get one free coupon from the hotel. I feel that we got our money’s worth for our stay. We also finished out the free gambling money and cashed out $13. We’re big spenders.

Next stop, hardware store. While searching for a place that might have the screw things, I found out that Interbike was in Las Vegas and yesterday was the last day. That would have been awesome to go to! Anyway, I found something that will hopefully work for the rear bike wheel cover. I think it will be better then not using the cover at all.

For lunch we found the Whole Foods. One of our favorite places to eat on vacation. I picked up some peanut butter for snacking later. They have the machines like at our local co-op where it’s filled with peanuts, you hit a button, and peanut butter comes out. But, they have a ton of selections! I was in heaven! Cashew butter, almost butter, almond butter with chocolate chips, peanut butter, peanut butter with chocolate chips, and my favorite (which I haven’t been able to find since our last stay in Las Vegas) honey roasted peanuts!!! I’ll have to buy some more before we fly out next week.

Our drive to Orange County was pretty uneventful. Thankfully we were not pulled over at the fruit inspection check. I really didn’t want to hand over my apples from Iowa. Didn’t even think about that when I packed them. I also got to see a dirt devil. Tried to take a picture, but I wasn’t quick enough. We hit a bit of traffic when we got closer, and I took us onto the wrong toll-way. We also didn’t realize we would need $1.50 in change to get off the toll-way. It says it’s monitored by cameras, but is it actually? Guess we’ll find out soon…(UPDATE: yes, there are cameras, and it's not a cheap ticket!)

We’re staying at the race hotel in Foothill Ranch. Nice enough place. I unpacked the bike and put it back together. It seemed to have traveled pretty well in the case (thanks Jeremy!).

Looks good!

Wes got in a bit of relaxing before we left to drive the bike course. I swear it seemed a lot further then 40k! It’s pretty much all uphill or downhill. Nothing steep, but very long! The longest incline is about 5 miles long. We also drove down to the swim, but weren’t able to get in the water because it was already dark out. Oh, well. I guess my 10min swim this morning will have to do. Hopefully tomorrow I can get in for a quick swim. The beach area was beautiful. The race starts and ends there, but T2 is a mile or so away.

Stopped at Ralph’s for some dinner and breakfast food, and some snacks. Then back to the hotel to eat, relax, and will probably head to bed shortly. Lots of pre-race stuff to do tomorrow.