This past week I finally completed the rest of the plans for the France trip. So here's the brief summary of the trip-
Day 1- Fly to Lyon, France
Day 2- Arrive in Lyon & pick up rental car/drive to Clermond-Ferrand, France
Day 3- Sight see/build bike/race registration
Day 4- Race Day!
Day 5- Drive to Aix-en Provence/Sight see
Days 6/7- Sight see south of France
Day 8- TGV to Paris/See Paris
Day 9-10- See Paris/see finale of Tour de France
Day 11- Fly home
With that completely behind me, I've truly focused on the training now that the elbow is showing its first signs of recovery. My training program has me on the bike for a bit over 11 hours a week. (All indoors so far....) And the hours and intensity build from here. With a half dozen different cycling shorts in rotation, I'm certainly developing a love (and hate) for certain shorts. The current love? Castelli Body Paint Bibshort. Expensive but the best so far. (I won't bother mentioning those shorts getting the pink slip.) For a about 3rd of the price, the Hammer bibs are a really good choice, but the Castelli's fit me just slightly better. 
As part of the stepped up training, I finally got "Retuled". I'll explain. Retule is a bike fit system that uses digital imaging and motion capture to get the fit on your bike completely dialed-in. The traditional way of getting fit utilizes static measurements (i.e., the measurements are taken while you sit still on the bike). Instead, the Retule system places probes on certain key areas of your body (feet, ankles, knees, hips, elbow, shoulder, hands, etc.) and measures the angles while you spin. Over the course of 90 minutes, the Retule rep adjusts and tweaked my saddle height, the seat position (fore and aft), the cleat on my shoe, the height of my bars such that I'm maximizing comfort and efficiency while riding. It's been 2 weeks since the bike fit and can say that I'm definitely feeling more comfortable. Overall, the adjustments weren't huge if you're counting cm or inches; but the fairly small adjustments have made sitting in that saddle for many hours more pleasurable. (Not sure that sounds appropriate.)
All that said, it's time to really get focused to stay on the straight and narrow (training path that is...). Hopefully the weather will start getting warmer so I can take the training outdoors, but until then, it's in front of the TV monitor spinning away. I really appreciate the support I get from my friends and family in this endeavor- you guys keep me completely motivated. Keep it up! Check back in soon....
