Priceless

I have been around long enough to know that the " best things in life are free ".  Yesterday was Christmas and I opened several  gifts. There was one gift of surprise my husband and daughter had up their sleeve.  They had wanted me to go for a bike ride since I have been too busy all week.  The gift of riding my bike got even sweeter when I saw that my good friend Mary was going to be hitting some gravel about 1pm.  Perfect timing for me.  We have not had a ride together in a super long time.  Our rides together are at races.  And by together I mean we see each other at the beginning and I chase her to the finish.

Our last ride together was along the Katy starting at Research Park ending in St. Charles, about a year ago.  Great 30 mile ride with a beer in the middle.  We found a beer tasting and tried a new beer.  Funny thing was, we could accept samples but could not enjoy an open beer.  What?  We purchased two O Fallon Sticke It To The Man bottles with two brown paper bags.  We enjoyed them hiding behind a building, shielding ourselves from the wind and any possible lawmen.  On our ride back the alcohol took effect and we laughed a lot.  I will never forget that ride.

Last year for Christmas Mary bought me a four pack of Sticke It To The Man.  I have held on to them for a special occasion. That day came yesterday.  Christmas day 2011, I spent riding with an awesome friend.   We rode the Katy to Klondike.  We chatted, caught up on each others lives, rode 18 miles in 1:18, and parted ways by 3pm.  I handed Mary one of those four beers yesterday. I imagine she enjoyed it and reminisced about our ride too.

 O Fallon did not make this beer this year. There will be only two left by the end of this evening.  I will enjoy this beer and remember that day.  Priceless.  The last two we will drink together.  You can't buy that.