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