Summer of Sean II

Yes, there was a Summer of Sean I, where his sole focus was cycling. We ate little, cut off the air conditioning, and mooched food from friends (thanks Caroline & Paul). It was the final summer he would have to really focus on cycling and not work. Surprisingly, two summers later, we have reintroduced the Summer of Sean, season II. Again, his focus is solely on cycling, specifically racing Pro 1,2, although the purpose of this summer is to stay in shape for those races since next summer he may only race Masters (again, yeah right!). After riding all day with other highly focused cyclist that also do not have employment, (I’m not going to name names Thad) he sits on the couch and recovers for the next days ride. However, there has been a glitch in the system. We are moving at the end of the summer and can’t afford the luxury of not working, so Sean has taken up hard labor. A friend does remodeling, maintenance, etc. for the local realtors and Sean decided to earn a little extra cash to help the moving fund. He initially thought it would be small jobs that included painting, whistling at women walkerbys, and long lunches, but it’s turned out to brick laying, power washing, heavy lifting, and no lunch. As a result he called in sick today to catch up on sleep and put some miles in on the bike. I knew nothing could stop the Summer of Sean II! Stayed tuned to see how Sean balances work and cycling...

Trailer Bling, Bling

Pressure to keep up with the Jones’ is extreme, add a trailer and it’s just plain brutal. The weeds in the fence line, multiple satellite dishes on the roof, and expensive cars in the yard wasn’t enough. We needed some bling, bling and after winning our gold medals, we knew where to showcase them. Now you’re talkn’ dog…

Weddells Accused of Using EPO

After a weekend of victories in Charleston, SC the rumor mill began to circulate that the Weddell family may have doped to win their SC criterium championships. I placed 2^nd in the Women’s Cat 4 race and first for SC. Sean took home a gold medal as well in the Masters 35+ race while placing 2^nd in the race. After my performance from the day before (Saturday) of being shelled in the women’s open race, rumors that I partook in an overnight illegal cocktail began to circulate among the Greenville racers. This rumor intensified after Sean won gold, although he had a spectacular performance the day before placing 12^th in the Men’s Pro 1,2 race, suggesting he had a cocktail Friday night. Some even speculated living the simple life in our trailer has forded us the opportunity to enhance our fitness however, I will state for the record, “We have never used any illegal, banned, or performance enhancing substances.” Congrats to NathOn for his win in the Pro 1,2 race and SC crit champion as well. Looks like the Clemson Chicken Riders Rocked the lowcountry!

Can't Judge a Book by it's cover.....or it's Brick Foundation!

We have moved now let's see.... a total of six times in the last 8 years. She has moved to many of these locations without so much as picture of the house or trailer we are moving into. Each of these homes have had their appeal. Some much more than others. However, the one thing they all had in common was Melissa's skill to make even the smallest and simplest of places (trailer) seem like a home. I can honestly say that the trailer has become quite homey and is even missed on long weekends away that include me chasing the Summer of Sean 2. (Yes for many of you reading there was a Summer of Sean 1). I have included a few pics of our home to show off Mel's talents and to honestly say she is the Shisell....Snoop Dog 1999!(Dawn is this missspelled?)

A Weekend of Leisure

With the cold chill of the Arctic air sweeping through the Upstate my “well intentioned” plans of putting in some miles quickly changed. Saturday I slept in, ran errands, and visited a few thrift stores. Sunday, after ready my trashy southern novel (I highly recommend Mary Kay Andrews) about Savannah, the Mr. and I decided brave the weather and go mountain biking. Perhaps after lying around most of the weekend, being vertical was a shock for my body. I hit most trees, missed turns on the trail, and said profanities under my breath the majority of the ride. Sean soon stopped asking me if I was alright. Even though it was a rough day in the saddle the weather was beautiful! The grass was green and the blooms open and full of color. There aren’t too many places where in about 4 miles on your mountain bike you can be in 20,000 acres of smooth single track. (OK, so it wasn’t that cold, it just felt like it!) Welcome Spring!

Chain tool anyone...

Sean and I escorted a Clemson mountain bike course to DuPont State Forest for an afternoon of riding Thursday. The weather was perfect! Clear skies, low humidity, and a temperature of around 50 degrees. For many of us, this was our first time at DuPont and our initial efforts yielded little single track riding. We rode on private property and fenced in areas with gravel fire roads. Luckily, we stumbled onto a security guard who was most helpful and gave us a map. Mental note, when you take a group into the woods have a map! After this we were able to navigate and find some awesome trails. I broke my chain close to the end of the ride and was thankful a student was so quick at helping me fix it. I get so frustrated fixing a chain, so I put the chain in my hand and started running. I realized I had so many problems in the past because a small component had been missing from my tool! DUH! Needless to say we all got out safe before dark. Enjoy the pictures!

DuPont Mountain Biking Trip 4.07

DuPont State Forest April 2007