Parleys Canyon Riders: Tough and Not so Tough Choices

Every single day of our lives we make choices. Most of them are seemingly inconsequential, and a few, although a not apparent at the time, are of great moment. Some are good, others bad. You decide the answers to the following multiple choice questions:

Should the PCRs Follow BIG MAN to Ogden? The PCRs allowed BIG MAN to be their leader (well, kind of) yesterday. Many of them mindlessly followed him like sheep early in the morning, but it turns out not early enough. Some of us almost missed the train ride back. One did!

Were No-Show PCRs Smart? Mr. MBA rebelled and chose an easier route, and did not even bother to tell his bike buddies he was going to be a no-show. Read on and decide whether you think his classless act of not telling his buddies he would not be there was smart.

Was Failure of a PCR to Read and Heed BIG MAN's Counsel a Bad Choice? BIG MAN sends lots of communications to his flock, some by email, others voicemail, yet others by texts, and if you are real unlucky, like Jean, some in are in person. His outreach is so broad and continuous that one of his aliases is now “White Noise”. So it is no surprise that one of his sheep neglected to read or followed all of BIG MAN's instructions, particularly to dress warm Saturday. As a consequence Prez. Hale is being treated for hypothermia.

Should the PCRs Ride Down Ogden Canyon During the Ogden Marathon when the Police Order them NOT TO? On Friday BIG MAN was forewarned that the Ogden Marathon was routed through Ogden Canyon at the same time the PCRs would be riding down that narrow canyon. And as predicted, when the PCRs arrived at the mouth of Ogden Canyon they were ordered by the police not to ride down the canyon with the runners. It was 11:30 and they had to be at the Ogden train station by 12:00, when the FrontRunner left the station. The next one left at 1:00. So there was a lot of pressure to keep moving. Not to worry, BIG MAN's persistence, personality, humor and good looks paid off and the police gave the PCRs a police escort down the canyon. (True Story, and BIG MAN was riding shoulder to shoulder with the office yelling to the runners, "YOU'VE GOT THIS" and cheering on the volunteers at the aid stations. You would have thought he was the marshal of the event.)

Should Bruner Allow Himself to be Separated from the Rest of the PCRs? Once the PCRs got out of the canyon they sprinted to the train station. After all, they did not have a minute to spare. Bruner, rightly thinking there was a shorter path to the train station paused to think about the smart choice, which separated him from the group. Bruner was right, but his hesitation cost him valuable time.

Should the PCRs Abandon the Pirates’ Code of Ethics? Gordon Smith aka the “Hammer”, BIG MAN and Prez. Hale arrived at the train station. Bruner was nowhere in sight. Hammer, BIG MAN and Prez. Hale had a snap decision to make. Do they wait for Bruner and be another hour late or jump on the train without tickets and beg for forgiveness from UTA. Without a second thought all three jumped on the train. Hammer, a Doc at the U of U, thought he could cash in on a valuable benefit of free travel on UTA vehicles offered by his employer: At last his state job was going to pay big dividends! BIG MAN and Prez. Hale figured they could pay when they got on the train. It turns out all of their instincts were wrong. The police chided Hammer because he did not tap his card on the train door as he entered, and lectured BIG MAN and Prez. Hale that they should have waited another hour instead of getting on the train and riding without a ticket. Prez. Hale went to pay for the tickets when arriving in Salt Lake and the BIG MAN was thinking, "What in the Hale are you doing, let's go. We got a FREE ride." BIG MAN started to feel guilty and repentant and went to pay also and Prez. Hale said, "I've got em, Get on the TRAX, I'm not riding another mile." Then BIG MAN understood his reason for buying tickets. Bruner, you should have known you were riding with pirates. In case you have forgotten in your old age their code is: “Any man who falls behind, is left behind.”

Should you Offer an Officer of the Law Cash when He is Threatening to Give You a Ticket? As the officers chided BIG MAN and Prez. Hale for not having a ticket BIG MAN offered one of them cash, to which the officer responded: “that will get you 6 months sir!”

If you want a Quiet Contemplative Ride should you Follow BIG MAN? If you don’t know the answer to that question by now you are in serious trouble.

In all, it was a beautiful ride and one worth repeating, after a long period of time has passed so the memory of the pain has faded.

YIPPY SKIPPY