Today was a difficult day for me. I started getting pretty sick, and so I decided mid ride that I needed to van. It was my first time doing it, and I have to admit I felt really bad being in the van. I don't mind being in the van if I'm assigned, since I feel like I'm helping the team with water breaks or lunch, but just to be in the van and have very little to do isn't so great. I was also really bummed out that I didn't get to ride into Denver, which is a bike friendly city. As someone who's lived in a city for awhile now, I really appreciate city biking, sometimes even more than out on a rural road. I tried to stay positive while I fell asleep / kind of woke up and complained a lot. It was definitely a humbling experience. I know I made the right call, so in the long run I won't regret it. Also when you van, you really see just how much effort the water van people make everyday. Today it was Chris and Katrina in the van, and I admired just how hard they worked to make sure everyone has water. In theory the water van should be an easy job of just chalking and providing water at scheduled stops, but often in practice it turns into driving all over the right, going back and forth looking for groups, etc.
Still difficult was that we were supposed to give a scholarship check to a recipient, but due to some mix ups with the vans, we weren't able to give him the great giant check. It's only symbolic, but I was disappointed still.
Fortunately at the end of the day there was a highlight. Emily Lake, Katrina, and Katrina's girlfriend, Michelle (who is visiting) went to an H-Mart, which is a Korean grocery store. We stocked up on a crazy amount of Korean food and snacks. We didn't really have a great place to eat them, so we went back to Michelle's hotel and just ate in the lobby. Translation, we took over the lobby area and it smelled so much like Korean food. We got a pack of pickled garlic that nobody wanted to eat but me. Katrina and Michelle at least took a small bite of a clove, but Emily refused *judging*. I, being Korean of course, ate 15-20 gloves of garlic.
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