US Pro Road Championships = Awesome (Part 1)

I realize I probably have a lot of blogs to post, but, it's not going to happen while I sit here in the airport. I owe one with pictures of the new house...you'll get it eventually. Today is going to be a post about one of the best vacations I've had in some time.

I took a small and short trip to Greenville, SC. The reason is simple: to finally get to see my bro race in the US Pro Road Championships. This really is where it all started last year. He finished 5th, while riding in relative anonymity. He was clearly talented and riding for Kelly Benefits. After this race though, a man by the name of Johan, who manages this small team known as Team Radioshack, called and made an offer my bro couldn't refuse. A year later, he returns to where it started.

My mom flew down a day earlier than my dad and I. To be honest, I was tired the first day. I worked a regular shift on Friday, so the 5:55am flight on Saturday morning came fast and I only got a few hours sleep. I tried to sleep on the plane but had no luck. The plane was delayed from Milwaukee to Atlanta (insert Ludacris song "Welcome to Atlanta"). Thankfully the plane from Atlanta to Greenville was also delayed. We made it to the gate just as that plane was boarding. We got to Greenville as scheduled and were picked up by mother and taken to the US Pro Time Trial Championship.

This was the first time I've been to the National Championships the pros really care about. After all, with a win you get to wear the "Stars and Stripes" jersey in your discipline for the next season. Which is a pretty big deal. It was quite awesome to see 3 of the biggest names in cycling throwing it down on the time trial course. It was a very close finish between Levi Leipheimer and Taylor Phinney. Phinney won by a narrow .14 seconds, or maybe it was .15, I don't recall, you can find that information on Cyclingnews.

Here are a few pictures:

Picture 1: Taylor Phinney
Picture 2: Levi Leipheimer
Picture 3: Mr. Awesome - Matthew Busche

Matthew finished 5th, which is pretty sweet considering he's not a super great time trialist, yet. His time will definitely come, this is for certain.

After the TT, my parents, Lisa (Matthews wife, duh) and I went back to the hotel. We weren't there long and got word we should go chill with Matthew at the team hotel. We went over and hung out with him. There were several teams staying at the hotel, so we saw a few riders walking through. It was cool to feel closer and more involved in the tight-knit community that is pro cycling. Matthew left with the team to go to dinner, but not before we got to meet Allan Lim, arguably one of the greatest minds in cycling. Lisa, the parents and I then went out. I was tired, and dinner wasn't anything to write home about. After that, we stopped at the Marble Slab; it was similar to Coldstone, but, the ice cream was way smoother and way more delicious. We walked back to the hotel, I took out the pull out couch from hell and went to sleep for the night.

I guess I own a home...??

Well...it has been some time since I have written an update. In that time, a good friend from Texas came to race his bicycle, I took a lot of time off my bicycle and my brother has kicked some serious ass and put up some sweet results. I think in about 3 or maybe 4 races, not real sure. One of those was a stage race, so if you are going to be picky, it could be way more considering it was 6 stages.

In any event...things have gotten quite interesting. As is well documented, I have been looking for a home. I found one...way back in July, probably about the 15th or so, maybe even earlier in July. For those not familiar with the process it is a lot of hurrying up...and then waiting.

After I decided this was going to be the one I wanted to put an offer in on, and after a few others didn't work out...the games began. I worked with a friend of mine who works for the Wauwatosa Fire Department. Great guy...good at a lot of things and has a background in building and construction, bonus. He has a tendency to be a little retentive and so he likes to do a lot of things himself...so he decided to get his real estate broker's license last year and started a real estate company. He also sells guns...which is awesome.

Anyway, back to the story...the offer was put in and after about 6 counter offers, a deal was met. I signed the final paperwork and off to the races we go. Sort of. Did I mention the hurrying up to wait? After the offer and price was agreed upon, I have to get an inspection done. The person/company that did the inspection was great. Very knowledgeable guy and really easy to talk to. Plus, he is also a contractor/builder/master carpenter...so he knows his stuff. The inspection was good with the exception of a crack in the foundation wall. He didn't really seem too concerned, however, because of his profession he has to make a note of it and make suggestions. He suggested we get an engineer to determine whether or not the wall would need to be repaired/braced etc.

In the meantime, the mortgage broker stopped by my apartment with about 100 pages of legal documents relating to this home purchase. They were all loan application documents and a disclosure of the costs associated with buying a house. And there certainly are some serious costs. I signed my life away and moved on. The mortgage broker then took the paperwork to the appropriate people and the application was off to the lending company.

I went to get insurance on the place so that when it came time to closing on the house, I had insurance and we could proceed. Because of some regulations or something, it is required that you have insurance. I am guessing that is because a majority of Americans don't have the funds to buy a home outright in cash and are borrowing money. This then creates the issue that a bank has an interest in the house and what happens to it. Regardless, I got it taken care of and was all set to close on the house on August 13th.

In retrospect, I think I am happy it didn't happen on the 13th because if you were to look at a calendar you would have noticed that just so happened to be a Friday! However, I still think it turned into more of a nightmare than it needed to be...

I had talked with the mortgage broker a couple days before Friday and he mentioned the possibility the closing may not happen on Friday. A day before the closing he told me it WASN'T going to happen on the 13th and had no idea when it would happen. This set forth a chain of events that will still be unclear to me...and will remain frustrating and confusing.

Apparently, government regulations state that a mortgage broker (ie. the person working for me) cannot have contact with the lending agency for fear of a conflict of interest. Simply put, the person whose reputation is on the line to the client has zero ability to make sure things are done in a timely manner. A lending company (ie. bank) also has 48 hours, at a minimum, to review the loan application conditions. Keep in mind, there is no maximum, at least that I have been made aware of. One of the loan application conditions is the insurance and the effective date of the policy. The original effective date was 8/13, but because the deal couldn't be closed on the 13th, a new date had to be set. The new date was today, the 18th.

So...because of a new closing date, the conditions have to be resubmitted...and apparently ALL the conditions. NOTHING else changed, except the closing date which would in turn change the effective date of the insurance, but EVERYTHING has to be re-reviewed. Did I mention the hurry up and wait?

Well, the new conditions were submitted on the 13th, I believe, which then gives the lender, at minimum, 48 hours to review it. So...being generous, as I always am, we'll just say that the final conditions weren't submitted until late on Friday, the 13th. Being that it is a Friday, I am sure people need to get home early, or don't want to work all day, or whatever, and so we'll just say they will get to it Monday 8/16. 48 hours from there would be...TODAY, the 18th.

So, I am all set for today, the 18th, at 1pm. Well, at about 11:30 I got a call that it won't be until 2. Then at 2 I got a call that said it looks like it will be about 2:30...then it was 2:45! At this point I am getting a little nervous because I have to go to work at about 3. At about 3, the paperwork arrives that I finally get to sign...well, some of it. The real stuff didn't get in until 3:45...a full 2 hours and 45 minutes after the original appointment, all because the date on the closing had to change and be reviewed by the lender...who was too slow in reviewing the application...which made the date change...!!??!??! Yeah, I am too tired right now to even come up with an applicable analogy.

In any case, I signed a bunch of paperwork, which boiled down to, "Make your payments and you'll stay in the house. Make sure you have insurance on the house, and don't continue to store the waste from your nuclear energy research in the basement, that stuff is dangerous."

At this point, usually the buyer gets the keys...but not for this guy. The lender now has to re-review, the re-reviewed loan paperwork...which is now officially signed...to then release the bank funds to the sellers. Yep, hurry up...and wait.

So, I am hopeful that today, I will be getting the keys to the joint. There are lots of projects in my head, but as a wise man (father) told me, "there are needs and wants...take care of the needs first."

I am thinking if it isn't much of an inconvenience, I will take some pictures and post them for your viewing pleasure. Until then...Peace.

Oh...and go see the movie "The other guys." It is kind of a dumb movie, I'll be honest, but I didn't stop laughing literally the whole time.

MTB - Part Duex

Day two of mountain bike riding. It was much sweeter. Courtesy of one Dr. Mantel, the front brake issue was completely resolved. To the point that there was no more rubbing...it worked perfectly!

I was actually introduced to the true Tosa trails. The one other time I had ridden them, it was at night...and on a cross bike. Not a good idea. These trails are slightly rocky and have a lot of roots.

Overall though, the second episode was quite good and I enjoyed it. To the point I will do it again...and again...all the way up until the Epic.

All I got for ya.

CONGRATS TO MATTHEW ON AN AWESOME FINISH IN THE TOUR OF AUSTRIA!

First MTB ride...

Today I put in what will hopefully be the first in a number of mountain bike rides prior to the Unnamed Epic mountain bike race in August. I am hoping by that time I will be a little better on the mountain bike...to say the least.

I did the Tosa trails today, which are not to far from my apartment, which is nice...really nice. I am borrowing a good friend's bike and it is quite nice. The Gary Fisher Ziggurat(?) or something like that. Front suspension, sweet components...its a good ride. The problem I am having is mostly due to my unfamiliarity with mountain bikes. This bike has some awesome Avid Juicy disc brakes, which are super nice and work well...when they work. The problem though is the front brake is completely stuck...ON. So, I rode for two hours with a disc brake on. While trying to fix it, I hit the disc and ended up getting a burn on my finger.

So, that was that. I continued on with the ride and was frustrated the entire time. Such is life though. Sadly, I managed to ride 9.5 miles in just shy of 2 hours. I am pretty sure that is pitiful as hell.

In any event...it is the 4th of July...so Happy Independence Day.

AB.

One entire month

While catching up on good ol' google reader with current events, news articles, gadget articles and pretty much any other news/information you can think of, I also caught up on the velotrocadero blog which lead me to think of my own, futile, pitful blog.

I checked today and it has been exactly one month since I have made a post! You would think a lot would have happened in that one month, but to be honest with you, absolutely nothing has happened. After the Sussex race, I pretty much put the racing for the year on the shelf. I am not doing ToAD, but congrats to one James Stemper, former VeloTrocadero rider and current yellow jersey of the series. My excuse is mostly the probation status I have at work...but part of it is fitness and other parts are motivation. I am in good fitness, probably better than last year, but racing is out of the question. If I put in some time with hard efforts and high intensity the story could be different. Either way, I have enjoyed the last month, it has been relaxing and enjoyable.

The house search is going...well slow and frustrating. I find a house, see it once, like it, go back to see it a second time and one of two things happen: 1) the house now smells like a damp washcloth that has never actually be dry and always stays just a little wet or 2) someone else has put in an offer.

No worries, I will find one eventually. I am just hoping before August 1st.

Other than this, I am trying to figure out what to do about this Unnamed Epic mountain bike race my father and I are doing. We have a mountain bike at home that really probably only needs a chain, some minor tuning and brake adjustments/bleeding as they are discs. I think I may be able to borrow a mountain bike from a friend, but just haven't gotten around to asking.

For the most part though, life has been rather boring and uneventful, which I think I prefer. I turned 29 the other day! It probably is not as exciting as the exclamation point would suggest. I think it just means I am probably a little wiser and have a little less hair on my head! All in all life is good and I can't ask for anything else...well, except to maybe see my bro and his wife sometime soon.

PEACE!