"You can catch a lightning bug and put it in a jar, but you can't catch a summer evening and put it in a jar". That's what I was thinking as the Fern trail lit up with green flashes on the way home. The ride was a little longer and faster than I anticipated and I felt great.
15 riders left Joe's at 6:00 O'clock and now there were 4 of us headed back the the shop. As singles and pairs-- folks peeled off and headed home, shooting along on their own local routes, foreign to me.
This was the best ride I'd had in months, and I was keeping it to myself for the moment. The bars felt light in my hands, shit-- I myself felt light in my hands.
I was expecting to meet Big Worm and a couple other guys, but when I got to the shop the place was swarming with jerseys red, yellow, purple, blue, green and bikes in as many different colors. Joe and Pete were lounging in the deck chairs, tired after a long day of holding down the fort. Seeing this group off was the last item on the agenda. The air had a pre-race buzz to it on account of the overlapping crowds and the inevitable itch to sort out who's in charge. Few people draw enough water in this town to muster three or four different bike gangs for a group ride. Big Worm has that kind of pull. He's the Tony Soprano of our scene.
We rode for three hours, carving up the Fernbrownillac area and dipping over the tracks to the Pedrick greenway trails. Here in Tallahassee you can call that a full dose. Now it was getting dark. The fireflies were blinking and my legs were really doing me proud after the big miles Sunday.
Sasquatch keeps telling me my summer motto is "No boundaries" because I went on a road ride with him and I'm riding with lots of different people. Not such a bad motto really. Juancho-bike slut- that's me.
I would like to bring to your attention the actions of a few local boys.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/journal/bostonportland
Patrick, Justin, and Jason are some of those damned fixed gear punks who never seem to stop planning and dreaming big. They are headed out on a cross- country odyssey. At least they are taking bikes with gears and brakes. The BigRingCircus wishes them a safe journey and many big adventures of great suffering and triumph along the way.
BIGWORM will be out for two weeks working as a mechanic and logistics man for Phil Southerland, a type 1 diabetic, and 7 other type 1 guys. They are entering the RAAM (Race Across America) as a relay team. 25 crew members will work around the clock to support them. If you are interested in following their progress, you can link through the above page or go directly to the blog at http://web.mac.com/teamtype1
The BRC wishes them good luck and strong tailwinds as they kick ass making a statement for diabetics everywhere.
Under a new leaf-
Juancho
3 comments:
I spent all day trying to come up with something cleverly sarcastic about the way you slipped that road bike ride in there oh-so-casual and then never said a thing more about it. But I give up. I'm speechless and amazed. You went road riding, boundary exploring, delving into your bikuality.
Are you hoping no one notices that sentence? You must have had to borrow one from Joe because we all know you're too disdainful to have your own. Or are you road bikophobic? One of those big meaty jocks who mocks the swishy roadies while secretly lusting to be one himself? Who plays with it in the windowless room when no one else is there, wishing you could ride it in public in full view of everyone?
Sascha, bless your heart, you may be on to something. He probably assembles, admires, and then disassembles his road bike every single night before lovingly storing each precious piece under his bed.
Well, maybe I misrepresented the ride. First- S'quatch himself doesn't really "ride road bikes" like you're thinking. He has a road (touring really) bike that he does "swish" around on. I rode my FS rig with mud tires and we carved lazy figure 8's around town. If I DID get a road bike you would be the first to know.
And maybe I will...
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