Wow…am I groggy…

We left for Bill’s on Friday afternoon, loading up the car and heading out. It’s roughly 8 hours from my house to Bill’s, and we were a little late getting out. So we got there about 10PM. Weather was somewhat rainy all the way up there, until we were within 20 miles of Br Bill’s. Then we started seeing some snow mixed in, and some drivers started feeling the effects. We saw two accidents with drivers off of the side of the road, but made it through ok.

After we arrived, we unloaded the car, sat and talked to Br Bill & Br Michael for a little while, and called it a night. The next morning we got up early, met in the kitchen common area, and shared some espressos and bagels, and then Br Bill, Br Michael, and I hit the road for Bill’s very first cross race. Chris followed shortly thereafter.

The deal is….overnight, the snow had not stopped until 7ish AM. So we had ½ inch of snow and ice on the Chainbiter 6.0 course. One shaded uphill pavement section was a sheet of ice (as Chris found out), where the snow had begun to melt was soupy, and the beginners were faced with the worst conditions of the day. But my “little” brother (Brother) gamely pressed on with his borrowed mountain bike and none of the amenities used by others in the race. Brother Michael, Chris and I cheered him on from various vantages along the course, and even though he wiped out twice on a nasty downhill, he still managed to finish on the lead lap – an awesome accomplishment for his first ride. Despite Brother Michael insisting that he was too old to try it, we could see the gleam in his eye afterwards. So if anyone has some spare CX bikes lying around, we know of two potential contendas. Anyway, Chris’s race went off at noonish. So I armed Brs Bill & Michael with cameras and hung out in the pits. Everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Meanwhile, back in Houston, Sean and Tammie had started off for their bike riding adventure. Tammie talked Sean into riding the 27 mile loop at Novemberfest this year with her. I had been coaxing Sean to increase his mileage, and in a month he had gone from 12ish miles to 22. And probably about the time Br Bill was cursing my name, Tammie broke the news to Sean around mile 22 that it wasn’t REALLY 27 miles….it was 30. Poor Tammie, she left her bike shoes at home, so she did 30 miles using clip pedals and tennis shoes. That couldn’t have been any fun. But the good news is that all three – Br Bill, Tammie, and Sean – survived their bike riding extravaganzas. And they all still seem to LIKE bikes, so that’s even more important.

After the race, Br Bill, Br Michael, Chris and I all headed back to the seminary for showers, laundry, and ultimately, Mexican (mmmm) food. We hung out that afternoon, then headed up to our friends – Pete & Kendra and their two greyhounds Sassy & Zach. We had yummy Tibetan food with Yak dumplings (mmmmmm). The next morning was cold, but clear, and Pete won the “C” race. He had taken a second place the day before at Chainbiter, and then won in his hometown race. It was very cool and Chris and I were both thrilled for him. In Chris’s race, he got a call up (score!) and managed to land an 11th place in the men’s B race. Then we sprinted to the car for the long drive home. Today we pick Fred up from our very patient friend, Erin. I missed him last night, but I must admit that I enjoyed not having to walk him this AM after the last arrival.

So anyway, the lessons learned from this weekend:

There are places in Pennsylvania that are so remote that they don’t get satellite radio
Connecticut drivers are without a doubt the WORST drivers in New England. Our favorite maneuver, pulled on us 4 times this weekend, is they just change lanes…without looking. It’s a favorite of SUVs. Now imagine that maneuver in addition to driving like a Pittsburgher.
When Chris and I are firing on all cylinders, we’re a well-oiled machine. When we aren’t, we’re more of a 2-stroke engine with a locked up cylinder. Friday Chris was a bit disorganized. Saturday I was disorganized. Sunday we were a well-oiled machine.
My family and friends have greater reserves than they realized – and it’s so very cool that they’re open to trying new things regardless of their age!

- posted by cam @ 11:01 AM