Anyways, yesterday and today I have been dealing with the delightful fun of booking a hotel room for IM Coeur D'Alene. I have called every hotel in the area. Surprisingly most of them are not sold out yet. However, many of them are a little too far away to be within walking distance. The closer ones are all more expensive. I am trying to do this without a rental car, so walking distance is a must. I just made a reservation for 5 nights at a La Quinta which is 1 mile from the race site. Not totally ideal but it's walkable. The room has a fridge and a microwave, free wifi, pool/jacuzzi open 24/7, and a continental breakfast! I will be in the room (and probably at the race) all alone so if anyone wants to come with me I will share my queen bed with you! If you are afraid I will touch you inappropriately at night, I will allow you to build a pillow barricade between us in order to make yourself feel more comfortable. :)
Figuring out flying is a huge pain in the ass. Do I box my bike up and Fedex it? Do I box my bike up and take it with me on the plane? What if it gets lost? I don't know how to take it apart OR put it back together! What if it gets smushed in the cargo area of the plane? How much is this going to cost? How the f- am I going to be able to travel for an entire day the DAY after the race?
Lots of lovely questions running through my brain!
I am driving to Wisconsin. End of story. It's only a 12 hour drive. I can totally do that by myself.. it might take me 2 days but I don't even care!
At the suggestion of my parents, I am going to the bank tomorrow to set up a "vacation club account" which is something that I have never heard of, but apparently it will shuttle some of my paycheck into a new account so I will never even see that money, which means I can't spend it! Momma says that I have to stop buying IM backpacks, and lululemon, and things from L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, and Vera Bradley! Oh boy!
Well, it sounds like you are doing at least one thing right... listening to your mother :) haha. My wife and I actually have a vacation account that works the same way. If you never see the money, you can never spend it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck figuring out all the logistics! It sounds like that is going to be more work than the training itself. I wish I could give you some advice, but so far I have been able to drive to all my races. Check out some of The Lazy Marathoner's older posts though. I think she has traveled for races quite a bit and shipped her bike each time.
Stop buying lululemon? OH DEAR!
ReplyDeleteVacation accounts are the best! I've got a vacation account, Christmas account, Emergency account....Works for me!
Check into Southwest's policies for flying bikes (if Southwest services an airport near you). One of my tri friends did CdA a few years ago and she said Southwest flew her bike in a hard-shell case for $50 each way, which I think is a lot more reasonable than most of the airlines out there and probably safer than shipping it Fed Ex. (I think this was 2008, so the rates may have gone up...)
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up - "If you are afraid I will touch you inappropriately at night..." ha ha
ReplyDeleteSounds like driving is the way to go for IMMOO. I think Jon took his bike on the plan when he did NO HIM. You might want to send him a note.