Creating a MONSTER

This weekend I had the opportunity to ride Binder Lake for the second time. Last year Jim and I did the team thing at the Tall Oak 6HR Challenge. I remembered the trail being tight and twisty with a few technical spots. Keeping momentum would be important. It was pretty warm, but not as hot as last weekend. Sydney decided to come along when I informed her that there would be a rep from Specialized, Justin Neeley, and a shiny belt buckle, Don Daly's, she might like to see.She also insisted on bringing her bike so she could get her ride time in for the day. Don was the first person I saw. The buckle is amazing. I said " your right Don, if I owned any makeup I could use this as a mirror"Don replied with " wow, that beauty is natural", or something like that.

There were at least 100 people riding and more girls on SS than I have ever seen. We were all going to embrace the pain at high noon.After a short run we were off and spinning and grunting our way through the trail. I do not have a lot of experience on the tight and twisty stuff. I started to feel like a gorilla on a tricycle. About 2 miles in I bobble and lose a couple spots. All of a sudden I feel my breathing change. Like I am trying to breathe through a coffee straw. At a rocky section I hop off my bike to catch my breath. WTF??? That has never happened before. Lap #2 was much better as I got more comfortable and recognized pieces of the trail. Lap#3 was probably the best. I rolled up on a guy on a pink bike and he stopped riding and moved off the trail. I heard him say " Go Team Seagal" as I passed. While it was not one of my best performances, it was a great finish. I was happy to be done and be Pabsted.

I was hugged immediately by Sydney and she told me I did a good job. Then she asked if we could go swimming. Great minds think alike. A crazy after party followed the awards ceremony. If you waited around long enough you were lucky to see the infamous Bob Jenkins. He was presented with the coveted Pabst wrist sweat band for showing superior attitude and good taste in beer at the Leadville 100. I guess you could go buy a sweatband, but doesnt it feel better to have earned one?

I wish I could have taped the conversation Syd had with Justin when she cornered him. She said " I need a new bike" and "some clip on shoes and clip on pedals" " some gloves without fingers and a new helmet that doesnt hurt my head" " a jersey like my moms and a bottle cage" She showed him the $3 she made picking up trash and said " its for my new bike" and handed it to Justin. He directed her over to Uncle Storm, who was not in a position to say no, to ask him for a new bike. All he could do was nod his head up and down. I think that was a yes.

Tonight Syd and I biked 4 miles around the neighborhood. She is going to sleep good tonight. So, are we creating a monster? or have we already?

****Thanks climberstephen for the photo ****