arrived in chi-town yesterday folks - the adventure has begun.  pretty uneventful - just flew in to ORD, got the rental, then put the bike together and went for a fairly easy 2-hour ride to stretch the legs out and get them ready for friday's race.  drove in to the city thursday night and stayed at a downtown hostel.  not the most convenient choice for a bike racer with a rental car, etc, but it all worked out fine and i got a decent night's sleep.  up bright and early at 8 am and went for a super easy 45-min ride around the lake michigan waterfront - that was nice.  and now it's just straight-up chill out time.  opening race at 5:45 pm in Beverly Hills/Morgan Park neighborhood of chicago.  awesome.