Buenos Dias de Arizona!

I would like to begin by adding a picture that has absolutely no relevance to anything. I used to have an afro of sorts. If you examine the picture for more than 7 seconds you'll notice that the hairdo is enhanced by a shadow, but I should point out that this is about half as large as when it was at it's peak five months later. Oh yeaaah!But now down to business.I spent my semester abroad from Middlebury at the University of Arizona once upon a time. I primarily (ahem... exclusively) spoke English during my "abroad" semester, but the cultural differences from rural Vermont to southern Arizona are stark.I'm back in Arizona now on the road to recovery. After nearly three weeks of slaying myself on the trainer, embarrassing everyone at the gym with my massively supple muscles, and summitting some of southern New Hampshire's largest, ummm hills in order to stay fit I got the go ahead from Dr. Siegel to train outside and so here I find myself in Tucson!First I'd like to thank my friends at Arizona Cyclist for helping me quickly get my bike back rolling! I've swung through their shops in the past, but was just blown away with how quickly Patrick and Tim were able to get me out on the road after an isolated equipment woe this week. They're super nice, extraordinarily helpful, and extremely knowledgeable. Thank you gentlemen!While down here Tucson I also had the privilege to pay Bill Peterson of Foot Fitness a visit for my custom insoles. Bill doesn't adhere to the industry standard of insoles; he IS the industry standard. People do (and should) travel far and wide to see him. After speaking with a handful of non-cycling friends about my insoles I realize that custom insoles can be a fairly uninteresting subject. Fair enough, but hear me out: cyclists pedal roughly 5,000 revolutions per hour. Multiply that by anywhere from one to seven hours (yes, I did a rad Kitt Peak seven hour jaunt this week with DV), and you're putting your body through the proverbial ringer. If your body's geometry is not aligned correctly, then the repetitive incorrect motion will lead to serious chronic problems. So while insoles don't have the sizzle factor of an $8,000 super sleek fully tricked carbon bike, they're just as important.I have a fancy schmancy new camera that I love, but with which am currently totally overwhelmed. Resultingly, I snapped some pictures while at Foot Fitness, but managed to not get a single good one of Bill AND his work. Here are the shots nonetheless.My bike, my shoes, and Bill performing the all important cleat alignment:Notice the laser on the heal of the shoe and across the cleat:LIKE WHOA! BLIIING. Nice new kicks. Yup, check 'em out.I preceded this visit by getting my foot impressions done up in Rhode Island with Missy. So even if you can't make your way to Tucson, they have locations across the Estados Unidos for your feet to get very comfortable. Thank you both very much!Tucson with the Zimmermans is always fun. For starters my room/house/bungalo/stable/bachelor pad has acquired a disco ball. This is both fashionable and functional, since I can now get down and boogie late at night solo which keeps me fit and limber.Additionally, the baby chicks that I saw while here back in December are now full blown roosters and chickens!While it's a far cry from the mayhem of European narrow cobbled roads, I survived today's Tucson (in)famous Shootout with my one-and-a-half fully operational arms. Check mate! My new friend Jesse is earning the reputation among his Ft. Lewis teammates for consuming some bizarre mid-ride foods. You know everyone has their buddy who makes zucchini bread or homemade energy bars or a pocketful of goji berries. Well Jesse eats Chevron hamburgers. If that doesn't scream delicious/healthy/perfectly caloric, then I don't know. Here he is displaying his wares.Up close and yyuuuuummmm.And THAT my friends is what I call a blog post. Peace out.