To catch you all up

So, I know we have not written in a while. I feel bad enough, so I will make up for it now by blogging about all of our recent adventures. Starting with last weekend, I will catch you all up! Last weekend, the hubby and I made our way down to Italy for some great bike racing. We managed to fit ourselves, all of our stuff, four bikes, and a set of extra wheels into our new Volvo. The gas milage was great, and the powerful engine was a nice feature on the Autobahn. Miller was going 170K while I was sleeping, and said he couldn't even feel how fast he was going. I think that may be a slight exageration though, as he never went that fast while I was awake. I just think he knew I would yell at him for going that speed if I knew about it. Thankfully for him, I fall asleep as soon as I get into a car.
We made it safely down to Aviano, Italy and enjoyed some time pre-riding the mountain course before going out for dinner with our friends Joe, Carmen, their son, Alex and Chris, and Irina. I made the mistake of ordering a half-liter of wine (italian is NOT my strong point) and drinking it all. Luckily it seems to have loosened up my legs well, as Miller and I were able to both win our catagories on the mountain bike course the next morning. After the race, more food and wine followed (when in Rome.....or Aviano). We both had great results the next day as well, with myself taking the womens' win, and Nate coming in second in the men's race. Both of our friends who were racing did great as well. Overall, a great weekend for Lost River Cycling Team. Once again, a trip to a winery remedied any craving for wine (we took a case of bottles home). We had a relaxing drive home the next day and were in to work on Tuesday.
I spent my week doing some land navigation training that I planned for my company while Miller worked on the thousand or so tasks that needed to get done in the office. The week went by quickly and culminated yesterday morning with a German ruck march. Some Soldiers and Officers from the 18th CSSB (our parent unit) participated in a ruck march competition held by the German reserve unit out of Freihung, a neighboring town. We enjoyed doing the timed event of about 8 miles over the course of 2 hours with about 40lbs in our rucksacks. Although we had fun, and enjoy training with our German compatriots, both of us can barely move today, so of course, Nate and I went on an epic mountain bike ride! We enjoyed exploring in an area that we usually ski at in winter. While biking around Mehlmeissel, we encountered some very hairy, yet smaller, black cows. They wree quite cute, and tolerant as we asked them "How now...black...cow?" over and over again. Although we were hurting, the ride was great, and the 70 degree weather made everything hurt a bit less! Anyway, that is about all we have for now, but please don't forget to check our our Lost River Cycling blog for information about the team and our sponsors!