Three Things Thursday

Housekeeping note: Congrats to Jenny for winning my Venus de Miles registration giveaway! I can't wait to ride with her 61 glorious miles on July 28. I'm especially excited because she doesn't drink and will yield her post-ride tickets to me. A great friend to have, indeed!

1. I am taking Belle the bike back to the bike shop for the third time this week. I had a few technical issues on my 65-mile ride that the shop fixed right away, including my brakes sticking and a screw falling off my water bottle. As a courtesy, they filled up my front tire, which then burst.  They replaced it, but it was flat when I got home. Repeat. And now I hope they can get this sorted out since I'm leaving for the Gull Lake Triathlon tomorrow.  No pressure or anything.

2. My mom asked me about my garden, because I haven't mentioned it. I did, in fact, plant again this year. It's going quite well. I have Chinese cabbage, basil and peppers sprouting, along with a few tomato plants. I took what I learned last year and put it into action, growing fewer plants in a different arrangement while using better tomato cages.

3. I got an e-mail last week that I qualified for the USAT Championships in Milwaukee. Is this a big deal, or a big upsell?  I guess I earned a spot by finishing in the top 10 percent of my age group at the Iron Girl Lake Zurich triathlon. However, it's the same day as Zooma Chicago and I've got priorities. Still, not a bad e-mail to get! PS - If you still need to register Zooma's half or 10k, you can use discount code CHIAMB3 to save 10 percent.