I felt too good to be at work yesterday so with a claim of mental wellness I made a run for it. Like a kid who drags his feet to purposefully miss the school bus I let the day's agenda ride off without me. After 11 inches of rain and two weekends off the bike my fight or ride response kicked in and I took control of my destiny. It was a friendly, helmet-less lap of Munson with this guy that led us to bump into this guy. Stopping and talking to strangers are usually not the BRC way, but it was a lovely day to be in the forest and all the gentle creatures came out to enjoy the sun.
When Leadville Eric first came around us, the People's Republic of Jesse asked if I would normally ride as fast as he was going. Without a word I ka-chunked the Highball into the big ring and vectored in on the the disappearing wheel in front of us. I closed the gap until I was satisfied I had him if I wanted, then drifted back to my novice friend.
Yeah, I would normally chase him down and salt the earth with the dismayed sweat of his brow, but you know, I'm looking out for you, and I don't have my helmet, and I ate a burrito for lunch and it's riding kind of high, so I spared him this time.
Imagine my surprise when this mysterious rider pulled up at the old trailhead. We chatted bikes, tires, and tech while the People's Republic of Jesse listened, then another rider joined us. He was a barrel-chested brother on a black Ellsworth, a reader of the BRC, and therefore a man among men. Leadville Eric told us about the adventure he and his wife are enjoying, traveling North America and hitting premiere destinations like Tallahassee, FL. A veteran of RAGBRAI and a lottery winner for the Leadville 100 I considered amending my estimation to PR of J concerning my ability to catch the young gentleman from Indiana, but as a local on my home dirt I had not the grace in my heart to grant such a concession.
Still, Holly and Eric can expect the full support of the BRC in their travels, and at Leadville.
Juancho
3 comments:
Juancho-- mountain biking's local version of the Welcome Wagon. How'd you spin the new clay and the the torched benches and signs at Munson? I recall you mounting the bloggy soapbox to rail against the former. The latter could be those pesky Earth Firsters, maybe?
I tried to work my rant into the conversation, you can trust that.
For the record I don't miss the benches or the signs and I will not miss the clay when it's gone. They turned a natural trail into a wave pool. It's like chipping holds on El Capitan. Vandalizing a great thing to appease the lazy masses. Munson in its current form is like the beautiful girl next door strung out on meth and painted trashy with lipstick and eyeliner.
Jauncho,
I feel you *pain* my friend
:-(
B
Post a Comment