Way To Go Mary!

Riding with the PCRs is motivation for GREATEST! Two weekends ago our very own Mary, IRON WOMAN, Glauser, took to the podium in the annual AZ IRONMAN. Standing in 2nd position, she beat the winner by 3 minutes in the swim and 20 minutes in the marathon. Mary, you're a ROCK STAR!

  CONGRATS!

60 at 60

One way to find out how many friends you have is to invite everyone you know to ride 60 miles with you on your 60^th birthday – just like Scott Wood did on Saturday November 1^st. A couple of us agreed to go because we didn’t want him to be devastated when nobody showed up. To our amazement, an army of spandex clad warriors arrived at Steve Hale’s house at 8:30 am. Woody is such a big happy guy that no one wanted to miss out on the action. While we often have disputes about where to ride – (Just Trust Me) sometimes quite warmly – no one challenged Woody because it was his birthday. Hey, when a guy plans his own party you can’t tell him what to do. Of course, he chose his favorite course – the Dimple Dale Loop – which starts off riding through Holladay. Woody loves this ride because it is mostly downhill the first 30 minutes. He hates hills. And his greatest strength is downhill riding – he can smoke everyone. In fact, he is so good at riding downhill that the less he trains and the more he eats, the faster he goes. He is unbelievable. 

 

After finally climbing up to Wasatch Boulevard and then descending the giant hill at 125^th South, Woody was nowhere in sight. It took some of us 5 minutes to catch up with him. Woody also led the charge back north on Wasatch boulevard, often hitting 30 miles an hour with the massive tailwind. We are not sure he knew the wind was blowing him that fast, but he was feeling much younger than his 60 years. Around 33^rd South riders started peeling off. Not because they couldn’t keep up or go the distance, but some people have stuff to do on Saturday. Scott usually has a long “Honey Do” list, but Jodi gave him a pass on his birthday. At the top of Little Mountain only three riders remained – Woody, Craig and Mike G. On the way back down the canyon the 27 mile an hour headwind predicted for 1:00 pm attacked. Mike was being blown all over the road with his deep rim ENVE wheels. (Little Man, it's good you didn't show, we didn't have time to visit the hospital) He tucked in behind Scott, who has a very big……body (the author meant to say BUTT) and found a safe haven. Back home to safety we were all thrilled that Woody invited us to his party. What a guy! We love you Scott!

 

I LOVE ALL OF YOU... Thanks for coming out and YES, we will be doing this again soon, maybe not 60....:-)

 

YIPPY SKIPPY!

 

 Riding with your BUDS, it doesn't get any better!   

 

 You guys are KILLING ME, can we turn around yet?

 

65 at 60....... Good for another 5 years... :-)

 

PCRs Head South To Find Zion

Riding to find Zion is truly a spiritual experience. You never know what you will encounter on this journey, but be prepared to alter your course as you discover:

• Unexpected cars in your parking place at the condo
• Arriving at the starting line without bike socks and Gu all over your biking shoes
• Learning that BEEF is more important to some than Patriotism
• Dr. J still likes to "watch" flat tire repairs with the "thingy" in his bike pouch 
• FOOD is KEY to all epic journeys
• LAUGHTER is 1st and EXERCISE is 2nd

Key Stops are Important

 

 ~Make sure you stay fueled~

 START YOUR ENGINES!

 BABES in the PARK!

 Voted "BEST Glasses"

  Look close and you'll see the Big Man, wearing RED pants, bringing up the rear again... :-)

 

NOOOO, PLEASE, IT CAN'T BE OVER
 

Alpine Loop

The Dress Code

  

The only ways in which today’s ride could have been more awesome would have been if all of the PCRs had shown up and it was 5 degrees warmer (temperature plays an important role in this prologue).  Wood, Bruner (it was nice to have a member of the “A” team drop down to the minor leagues), Trabert (it is about time you showed up; it turns out that’s because we extended him the only offer to ride this weekend) and Hale left Lehi and rode their bikes up American Fork Canyon along the Alpine Loop down Provo Canyon and along the Murdock Trail.  It was 55 miles and 3,800 feet of ascent into heaven.  Bike therapy was administered to those in need (mostly Wood), Woody interviews were given and amazing scenery was witnessed (Wood we are talking about golden aspen leaves juxtaposed against stark blue skies and evergreens).  At the beginning of the ride, while at the Suburban preparing for the ride, an extended debate ensued over whether leg and arm warmers, vests, windbreakers and jackets should be shed.  Then Woody shared some of his mother Marilyn’s homespun wisdom.  He said she used to tell him: “you can always take it off,  but you can never put it on”  We are confident that in his youth he might have gotten the meaning of those words a bit twisted.  Following her sage advice, and Hale’s howls that it was going to be colder than his wife’s reception when he gets home late from work, everyone kept their outerwear on.  And it was a good thing because it cold.  So cold that Trabert insisted that Wood go to the back of the pace line because as he pontificated about his week’s events a cloud-like vapor formed as his breath struck the cold air (okay, it looked more like clouds that form during a hurricane) making it impossible to see the road ahead.  Bruner had to give words of encouragement to Wood and Hale to finish the ride in less than a day’s time. 

Afterwards, we went to JCW’s and spent a half hour trying to maneuver around the 9 foot restraint bar at the drive-in (Wood’s bike was on top of the Suburban), figuring out what to order and passing the hat to collect enough to pay for the goods.  On the way home, as we reflected on the appropriate attire for the day, Trabert, who revealed to the group that he lives in the hoity-toity “Harvard” neighborhood, told us of an incident while he was working for the Pebble Beach Resort, another hangout of the rich and famous.  He explained to the Hale, a neophyte in the ways of the world, that there are “dress standards” at the “Resort”.  One day he heard the following plea for help over the “Club” intercom: “There is a dress code violation on Court 2.”  Rushing to eliminate a breach of etiquette, he found a 20 something French woman, who apparently did not have the correct color of clothing, so she went au naturel from the waste up.  She certainly would have not have made it very far on today’s ride.  We wonder how Trabert carefully avoided an international incident over an extended period of time.  The young lady surely could have used some of Marilyn’s coaching. 

Remember PCR’s: keep the rubber side down and your warm autumn clothing on (not the least of reasons being that no one wants to see your bare chests).        



 

 

1st of MANY STOPS... :-)

 

Which Way????

 

 

Picture taker was wearing a "Y" sweat shirt so I showed him Super Man's logo

 

Fall is Officially Here!

What do you do when you arise early, excited to ride in the fall colors of Utah and it's raining cats and dogs? DO A LITTLE BLOGGING.... The blog has been a little quiet the last month as we all have enjoyed the close of summer. There were a few healing from falls, several triumphing in another LOTOJA, others spending money on bike repairs every week and some that have said, "I'll catch you next time, work is busy and I'm gaining weight and can't keep up any more".....  (REALLY, don't believe that last statement for a second)

Kim, our captain, has seen progress in his treatment and we continue to pray for him. Dave, Tow Truck Moesser, had a PR at LOTOJA and breaks the 10 hour mark as he brings in the A Team. Sexy Legs Trabert, finishes the season as #1 triathlete in the state. The Prez, Hale, is back in form after a year of unfocused riding and realizing the pain of the asphalt. And last but not least, Mr. T. is back visiting the PCRs as he continues to enjoy his retired life.

The photography team has been slacking a bit, but enjoy a few highlight from weeks past.

YIPPY SKIPPY!

 Man, I wish there was snow on these hills....

 3rd annual Snowbird challenge... Ride your road bike to the parking lot of Gadzoom and if that's not punishing enough, hop on your mountain bike and ride to the top of the tram..... CRAZY

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN - Mr. Hawke / 3 pete

If Your Mouth is Working, Your Heart Isn't

This weeks' adventure could be labeled as "wash rinse repeat" in many aspects because it was much like the hundreds of rides that have occurred previously:

1) Started in front of Briggs/Hale homes with the pre-ride-prayer(PRP) asking for safety on our ride and blessings for Kim and family.  As always the PRP was filled with a slight amount of levity to get the day off as usual  - e.g. early morning banter regarding updates on previous injuries (Wood & Hale).  Pre-ride negotiation on how easy we all needed to go today (Jensen the sandbagger), and eventually onto the pampered bike comments.

2) Cool morning in Coleville, and a beautiful day with friends experiencing the sunrise.

3) Riding together = miles apart.  (Resulting in Little Man repeatedly swinging back to the "social group" (T.Romney chairman) to encourage the social riders to pick up the pace.  Which eventually caused LM to utter the statement, "If your mouth is working, your heart isn't")

4) Jensen pounding out a consistent pace with very little drama

5) Wood finding friends (female +1) along the road to talk with, and finally

6) Little man beating Wood (and Hale) in the finale sprint stage, followed with chocolate milk and post-ride banter.

LM was assigned the TATS at the Wyoming/Utah border.  In spite of mocking, he bore for needing to refer to iphone notes, and unable to quote the book of Isaiah like some (Hale, Jensen) he did manage to produce under pressure the following inspirational thoughts to consider:

- "Life can only be understood backwards, but unfortunately it must be lived forward".

- "My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance and in inverse proportion to my expectations"

What was different this week:

1) Someone (Wood) dropping something (a chain) and the other competitor(Lloyd) not taking advantage of this misfortune within sight of the finish line. (Wood has no idea what Lloyd is talking about because he was miles in front of him when the dropping of the water bottle happened.)

2) Finding someone who has a larger gift of gab than Wood. (will remain nameless, but initials are TR)

3) Finishing together with no one getting injured (although Big Man continues to try with the running of that final stop sign).

We look forward to next week for all that is usual and comfortable, as well as the opportunity to discover something new.

YIPPY SKIPPY!

 "There's a Bright Golden Haze on the Meadow"

 Carl Empey, this lady told us A LOT of stories about your mischievous high school days... :-)

 The OLDER you get, the more COLORFUL you become and the need for smartphones to be SMART!

 Really, I have to sit on a beach towel on the way home??? I'm NOT that sweaty!

Masters of GIFT OF GAB University