Many, many more pics to come....but had to start with the crème of the crop...Thanks SKINS for another amazing week of fun....only ~350 days until we do it again.

You had to know that it was going to be a great week, when Darcy took this picture only 8 miles into RAGBRAI 2008....nothing could go wrong from here on out!

Check back this week...I will post some new stuff...

=========================================================================

New Rider Profiles

Kem Saichaie – Kem joins Team Skin Tuesday night in Ames and will embark on his first RAGBRAI as a rider although he “covered” RAGBRAI in his former life as a journalist (i.e., he followed the ride and took pics at the wet t-shirt contests).   

A few interesting facts about Kem:

• Although he is a big Daughtry fan, Kem’s favorite song is Drops of Jupiter by Train.  If you see Kem get emotional during this tune, just give him a minute to compose himself.
• Kem recently helped some computer nerds he works with enjoy their first rap concert at the Kanye West show in D’port.  Of course, the trip home to IC was complicated by the little 500 year flood.  Ask Kem to tell you the story – it’s worth every second – and how he sacrificed his new Pumas to help a damsel in distress after the show.  For all you ladies who think chivalry is dead ... we present to you Mr. Kem Saichaie.
• If you decide to buy Kem a shot (which we at Team Skin always encourage), he prefers the Three Wise Men.
• Kem replaces Cully Todd (sigh…) as the Cannondale representative on Team Skin in 2008.  Kem, you’ve got some big shoes to fill.  Literally.

Ann Breckenridge – Ann joins us this year all the way from New Hampshire.  How did she find Team Skin, you ask?  Thankfully, Ann is long-time chums with the Big Trooper, Team Skin - Arizona chapter member Tom Brecke.  Upon hearing Tom’s glowing endorsement, including Ann on this year’s roster was a no-brainer.  Ann promises to bring a healthy dose of class and dignity to the squad this year.  Lord knows we need it. 

Some fun facts about Ann:

• New Hampshire’s state motto is Live Free or Die!!  So I don’t think we should mess with her.  That sounds serious.
• Ann holds the unofficial women’s record in the Mt. Washington hill climb event.  That record is unofficial because Ann unofficially bumped Tyler Hamilton off the edge of the mountain when he couldn’t hold his line and Ann was DQ’ed.  I say Hamilton should have known better.
• Ann and her family just moved into a new house this summer.  It has 10 bedrooms, an in-ground pool, hot tub, and 6 lane bowling alley.  So please don’t be shy about taking her up on her generous offer of one month’s free lodgings at her new crib to anyone who sees this bio on the interwebz.
• In an e-mail to Team Skin earlier in the year, Ann expressed concern that she wouldn’t be in shape for the ride since her busy schedule only allowed for longer rides on the weekends and short rides during the week.  Something tells me Ann was able to meet the Bloz Benchmark of 37 solid miles of RAGBRAI training.

Ben Garrett – Ben’s a veteran of multiple RAGBRAIs but as the years tick by, he apparently felt his life prospects had dimmed sufficiently that he might as well join up with Team Skin for RAGBRAI XXXV.  Ben’s really worried about his fitness this year so if you see him struggling to keep up, slow down, offer him some encouragement (come on, pay it forward!!) and try not to giggle out loud at his huffing and puffing.   

A few Ben tidbits:

• Ben’s favorite color is off-white and he really enjoys long, quiet walks on the beach.
• Ben has recently begun dabbling in Irondork races and is doing quite well.  In fact, he won’t join us until Ames because he’s racing on July 19.  Good luck, Ben!  We know you’ll kick ass!
• Ben rode TOMRV in the big ring this year and when foul weather set in during the trip back to Bettendorf, he was somehow able to convince Team Skin to have a cocktail in a Bellevue tavern and wait out the storm.  So you know he’s mighty persuasive as Team Skin rarely mixes alcohol and bicycling.
• Two words – UNI Panther Pride!!!

TEAM SKIN sandbag @ GEOFF's

Todd, Cully, Steve, Brian and Kim tackle the Ouachita Challenge....check the review...

2008 in CO