Giro Time & Baccalaureate

Giro d'Italia (three week Tour of Italy and not my favorite greek sandwich - Gyro) begins this Saturday. It is quickly growing to be a favorite of mine as historically the climbing stages were far more brutal/vicious than TdF or the Vuelta. This year the organizers have tamed it down quite a bit (some say the Armstrong rule is in effect), but is going to be fun to follow with the all-star cast of participants (Lance, Ivan B., Levi, Sastre, Janez, Di Luca, Petachi, Cavendish, the Garmin boys...). This Saturday it kicks off with the team time trial (TTT). I am not usually interested in TTT, but this year there it is worth notice as several teams are primed to take the first Pink Jersey. I am going with Levi and Astana to win the overall individual and team as they are tour designed machines; this is where they shine and dominate. I have to expectations for Lance to do anything special; he will be solid, but not impressive. Most of my friends have fired off their predictions, but feel free to post yours if interested. I usually follow the races via cycling.tv, but for some reason it doesn't appear they are broadcasting it; will have to scramble to see what's available (hopefully http://www.steephill.com/ will come through in the clutch).

Last night we (the whole crew) went to the Bolivar High School baccalaureate service. I would say we primarily are there for Ashton, but so many other seniors have made impressions on us (Aaron, Katie, Dereck, Colin... all quality kids). So on the drive over Deb is reminding Ian to mind his behavior as it is tough for an 8yr old to sit through these programs; heck, it is tough enough for this 41yr old to do it! With that said, take a look at some pictures I took (before the start of the program) and understand why Deb made sure I was minding my Ps and Qs also:

It's really no wonder that Deb doesn't usually let me sit near Ian and Jake during events where manners and restraint are important. Jake was sitting with some friends during the 'photo shoot' or he would have been in the middle of it also.

After the program we headed over to Jim's home and had some ice cream cake with family - good times.

Jake is still struggling with pain in his leg and today he is going to talk with coach and the two of them are going to decide how to approach the remainder of the season. Jake's biggest issue is that he does not want to sacrifice the team's chances of moving through districts if he is not running his best (and someone else would run faster). That pretty much typifies his approach to most things; what is good for the team counts more than personal advancement (Coach Bandy will be proud as that is his mantra).

We are heading to SPR this afternoon as Ian has a double-header of basketball at The Courts tonight. This and one more week then it is all baseball.

Deb is giggly (thought you might like that Scott) about her departure for the cruise tomorrow. She is going to have so much fun.

Fitness: Thursday - REST DAY: played an easy hour of basketball at noon then Jim and I headed to the SBU disc golf course. We had a great time and going into the 18th hole I had a 2 shot lead... then I went swimming (disc in the creek). I salvaged a tie and he beat me by 1 in sudden death. The course is literally 1/4 mile from the office so I foresee several 'death matches' this summer. How cool is it to have a sibling be one of my best friends?!?!?!?