April 18, 2005 Paparazzi Disco fever, racing rampage A day in the life.... I just got back from dinner... I haven't had much time to work on my site all day because of several high-priority commitments: 07:35 -- drink triple espresso 07:55 -- dirty laundry into washer 08:00 -- breakfast 08:35 -- make lunch 08:55 -- transfer laundry into dryer 09:00 -- help in shop 09:30 -- write and research web reports for Pedalmag.com 11:10 -- get laundry out of dryer 11:30 -- lead 66-km Prologue (on a warm, sunny day at a leisurely pace with friendly guests) 14:45 -- eat lunch 15:00 -- shower 15:30 -- write more web reports... 16:30 -- finally spend a few minutes on editing photos for web update 17:30 -- work in shop 19:00 -- staff meeting 19:15 -- eat dinner 20:00 -- eat dessert 20:20 -- WORK ON WEB UPDATE!!!!!!! Apparently I made a funny face... As I was getting my chicken breast in mushroom sauce from the buffet, I nonchalantly walked by and eyed today's hot dessert and was so excited when I saw that it was peaches in caramel almond sauce, that I forgot to check out what the rest of the selection was. And you have to keep my buffet policy in mind: Only one buffet visit per course. So after I ate my chicken, I went back and scooped myself a couple of peaches and a good spoonful of caramel sauce, walked purposefully past the dessert table to the ice cream station where Thorsten (awesome pastry chef!) placed a ball of vanilla ice cream on top of my peaches and then walked single mindedly (I was on a mission) back to my table. Just as I started digging into the peaches (mmmmmm!), Margarit came back and said: "Oh, this cake is so good." I looked over and noticed that the dessert table, which I had walked by without checking out properly, had held a really tasty almond cake which I really really like and I've only had once since I've been here. I looked at the cake and must have made a face similar to that of a child when she sees that her older brother got a bigger, better cookie than she did. Then I said (apparently quite loudly and in an extremely distraught tone): "Oh no! Now I already have my dessert and I can't go back and get any more!" Following my outburst, there was a moment of silence during which everyone at the table stared at me. Then they all burst out laughing and didn't stop for several minutes. Andrea then got up and brought me a piece of the almond cake. Cool things from last week: - thunder storm Saturday afternoon - falling asleep in the sun on a plateau overlooking the beach - the light after this evening's rain shower - buying a bra for 1 Euro at the market - all the neat flowers that are starting to bloom - the pastor (who was the only guest to show up for the Prologue on Monday) who, despite my pleas to ride slower because I was still getting over my cold and I had raced the previous two days, kept attacking me on the climbs and pushed the pace so that we finished in record time. No, wait a minute -- that would go under Not-so cool things... Quotes: "Is that a real bird or a fake one?" -- Me when I heard a bird that sounded so stereotypically birdlike, I thought it was coming from Martina's computer. "Is that thunder?" -- Martina after the thunder storm had been going on for 15 minutes (complete with lightning) Disco fever Friday night I threatened (and went through with it too) to come watch the show that Martina had been practicing for every day this past week. The show was put on by the hotel's entertainment team and the Jr. Feldmanns (Martina, Andri and Flurin) were all helping out. It was quite entertaining, with Martina moving in ways (backwards somersaults, pirouettes) in which I've never seen her move before! After the show, the disco started up and I had my camera on hand to catch the action. I managed to pull myself away at a reasonable hour, despite constant efforts from Martina to keep me dancing... she almost succeeded too. She can be quite convincing, that Martina... and you know me, once I start dancing.... Click here to enter Disco Fever >> Race in Tossa! Tossa de Mar hosted stop #3 of the Trofeu Caixa Girona MTB series and Martina and I ripped up our home turf, placing first and second! Click here for Race Report and Photos >> Boy of the Week -- Dani S. a.k.a. Dänu -- Age: 26 -- Home: Switzerland -- Occupation: Student / Road bike guide / Ski instructor -- Likes: Shopping, photography, skiing, Nutella, spare ribs -- Dislikes: Panaracer tires, when people make fun of his Berner Oberland accent, when people ask him: "So how's Michelle?" -- Status: undecided. Girl of the Week -- Martina (Yes, again! She complained that her first appearance on girl of the week didn't get her any dates, so now we're trying again) -- Age: 21 -- Home: Quesnel, Canada -- Occupation: Student / Bike racer -- Likes: meat, Mikado, baggy pants, her pushup bra -- Dislikes: getting up early, when Sandra does her dishes, cheesy pickup lines. -- Status: Unquestionably Single.