6.4 Litres = 1.69 Gallons....should i really expect better than 17 MPG?

Here is my new "game". I drive like an old man, easy accelerations, i do the speed limit, i brake early for stoplights in hopes that i am still rolling when it turns green. I'm trying to see how good my mileage can get with the big truck. With a 6.4 litre engine (with two turbos) there will be a limit to how good the mileage will be. Currently with my daily driving i am averaging 14.5 mpg, which is up from 12.8-13 with my old style of driving. I need to do a time/cost analisyst to see if my time is actually worth more than the 1.5 mpg and the 10mph slower on all the roads. I'm having a few transmission issues (nothing major) so i plan on taking it in next week. While it is there i'll have them update any and all programs on the truck. Maybe ford has released a program update that will improve the mileage further. I haven't done any long trips in the truck since last fall, so i am curious what the freeway mileage will be...maybe 18....call me crazy.

I'm thinking a Mini Cooper Clubman in yellow with black stripes would make a nice "drive to bike races" vehicle.

I AM IRON MAN!!!

Have i told ya? I found out a little while back that i have Hemochromatosis. It basically means that my body absorbs much more Iron than normal. My older sister found out she has it back in November. I call her Iron Maiden...pretty catchy huh. It is a hereditary thing, so i had my doctor check for and...i've got it too. As far as genetic things go, this isn't bad assuming you find out early like i have. I basically have to bleed my iron level down to a low level, then go 3-4 times a year to keep the level down. If I didn't find out till i was much older, i would have started having heart/liver problems and other issues. I have given 4 pints of blood in the past 5 weeks. I've got at least 9 more pints to go to get to the low level. This makes staying fit for cycling kind of tough. I'm basically riding as much as i can to slow down the loss of fitness. Hopefully i will be done with the weeklies by July and i can start building my hemoglobin/redbloodcells/ hemocrit back up. Would this justify EPO? will my insurance pay for it? I've basically scrapped any plans i had to race this spring/summer. I just hope i can stay in shape enough for cyclocross.

Tour de Georgia Re-cap

Here are a few pics of the Tour de Georgia. I watched the first KOM on stage 5 and then went to Dahlonega to watch them finish. Sunday Sara and I went down to Atlanta to watch Stage 7.

Here is Tyler Hamilton hitting the top of Burnt Mountain, he was cooked, he looked even worse when he finished the stage
Here is the last corner of stage 5. A race in the south wouldn't be complete without Waffle house support. (I got a WH t-shirt and head band too....SWEET!)
This is the winning move going into the last turn.
Emma and Mary Anna are big cycling fans....althought i think they like hockey better.
This is what the peleton looked like all day sunday. High road was pulling the train all day...they ended up winning the stage, the race and the sprinters jersey too.

I did see Micheal Ball of Rock Racing , i wanted to get close to him to maybe hear him drop a few F bombs....but alas i didn't get near him. He was sporting a jacket with the special sunday TDG Rock racing jersey.

A good time was had by all. It is pretty cool to have a big race like this going right past where i live.