Snappin in Napa

Last weekend I was treated to a real vacation with the M's that did not include any races, business diversions or travel plans. I cannot remember the last time I have left town without work or a race as part of the destination or the last time I have laughed so hard for three days in a row. With a destination like Napa Valley and the pleasure of watching some friends tie the knot it was just about as perfect of a trip as one could be expected.

While our friends Liz and Jeremy were busy about with the wedding details, Monique, Mandy, Marius and I were out about on bikes sampling some of Napas best wines and single track trails. I would love to retire in a place like this!

It was great to see some old friends, share some old farts and just do. . . nothing. NorCal is such a cool place and even with the rain it was warm out and there was GREEN everywhere. My buddy Andy was in town for the Sonoma Century and we got to see some of the course and watch running teams from The Relay run pass right by the wineries as they worked their way from Calistoga to Davenport some 200 miles away. I think we scared most of the runners with our unique team cheer ;-0 This is the same run that Dean has been running solo for the last few years. Pretty inspirational guy . . . or some may say crazy.

On the way home we got to stop off and ride/run some of the XTERRA Del Valle course. Just 5 miles off the freeway. Stoked! The park is actually a HUGE place and promises to host a pretty challenging event. I wish that the Adventure Race was on Sunday and the Xterra was on Saturday so we could do both. . . What a great venue for some navigation. Hillz..Yes, there are lots.
The bike course is pretty smooth and I have decided to put the rigid on the Moots for the race. Precision steering that adds to the fun factor. The run is out of mind awesome!!! Probably one of the best GREEN trails I have EVER ran on. You almost forget that you are even in the same park, state or country. Pictures cannot do it justice and hopefully it will distract enough to push it harder on race day.

So with that it has been a busy week at work and I am gearing up today to head back to Del Valle and give it a go this weekend for the race and my first race since the 70.3 and I am looking forward to racing back on the trails!