WOW, we need to do more of this. The Woods and Tow Truck Hawke headed west for the beach a couple of weeks ago. YES, the bikes were allowed and YES, we got home late a couple of times from early morning rides, BUT it was worth it (Sorry ladies)
In the TRUE spirit of PCR riding, we stopped to take pics and meet new friends.
As the days are getting shorter, the morning rides are requiring more artificial light, which in turn requires a little MORE focus. Here is some chatter between two PCRs that proves this point.
We missed you Big Man.
Prez Hale (aka tommy boy) needed you to help him find the stop
sign. He was very stylish and wore his
sun glasses, in the dark of morning. I know he has a bright fancy light, but it
was not bright enough for him to see signs/trees. Yep, he got lost and was late. Claimed he went down a dead end street? He blamed his sun glasses. You might need a training session with PCRs
on when to wear sunglasses. AT 6 am in
September they do not work, but he did look really good.
Only one minor fall from Prez Hale on the way up. No injury, just dust on his kit. He reminded me the shoulder is dirt not
pavement. Ha.
Ciao and have a nice day,
- - - - - - - - - - -
It is true that I missed the turn off due to wearing
sunglasses. But at least mine are cool,
unlike the geeky transition glasses the Prof wears. It is also true that I went down on the
gravel shoulder, but that was because I was trying to protect the Prof from
dangerous road conditions. And it turns
out that he wanted me to ride on the edge of the road because he is afraid that
a cougar, hiding in the bushes, might jump out and eat him. So he wants someone slower and bigger to ride
on the edge of the road so that the cougar will hopefully be full after eating
me and lose interest in the Prof or the Prof will be quick enough to escape
while the cougar devours his slower and larger prey. And this guy is teaching ethics to our future
business leaders??
As we begin to ride in the fall colors and shorter days, let's all remember to dress warm, be careful, meet new friends, look for new vistas and ENJOY THE JOURNEY!
YIPPY SKIPPY
How far to the top?
A Little Heaven on Earth
37th Annual Snowbird Hill Climb.... These guys are FAST!!
These PCRs are CRAZY, if riding your "road" bike up to Snowbird isn't enough... REALLY?
Yesterday's ride was another reminder why we live in this great state. As several of us made it to the top of Big Mountain, we were reminded how "cool" the mountain air is and how "colorful" the hillsides are. Deer, bunnies, laughter and lots of conversation kept us occupied for a great ride.
Two of the younger PCRs decided to erase an item from their bucket list and participated in the 4th Annual Run Rabbit Run, 100 mile race in Steamboat Springs, CO. WHAT, ARE YOU CRAZY? As you will see from the pictures below, the BEFORE and AFTER tell the story. You two are CRAZY AWESOME!
Craig, Olympian, Bruner, is on the memd and doing better after one more surgery to put a few screws in the collar bone fracture. He is committed to ride LOTOJA next year. WHAT, ARE YOU CRAZY, TOO?
Last but not least, Prez. Hale is happy to announce the arrival of a NEW grandson.... INDY! I encourage you all go meet INDY and make sure he gets to know you before he grows up.
And the corollary
to the blog title is when the going gets tough, the weak wimp out! Professor and Big Man’s plan for Saturday's ride to East Canyon was to leave at 6:00 a.m. Of course half the
prospective riders complained about the hour of departure, and one, who shall
go unnamed, requested that the ride start at a more urbane hour. So the
group compromised and decided to leave at 6:30 (half the day is over by then
Lloyd). After waiting twice the duration of 5 minute rule, he did not
show--his bed held a firm grasp on him. And wimp number one was
out.
So the group trudged on in the face of gale force winds. At
the top of Little Mountain, another member, who shall go unnamed, turned back, and wimp number two was gone. Nancy we
hope he mowed the lawn since he returned so early.
Onward the group
pedaled towards the top of Big Mountain, weaving from one side of the road to
the other as cross winds pummeled them. They were diminished in size, but not in spirit. Then at the top of Big Mountain, a new PCR
participant, who shall also go unnamed and apparently had enough time during
the ride up to concoct an excuse for turning back, claimed he had to go to work
on a Saturday (he works for the government) so he could not ride on to East
Canyon. Come on Brad (oops), you really had to work on a Saturday of a
holiday weekend? You led us to believe you were the boss. Now we
know who is in control. An interesting phenomenon occurred after that
member left. The gusts of wind became much less frequent, less forceful
and cool. We may have discovered a new source of renewable energy.
We discovered that when he is talking there is enough hot air to power a 5
square mile wind turbine farm. Wimp number three, history.
The three remaining members made it to
East Canyon and back. Of course, Professor, Mike Mountain Goat Glauser had to keep looping back to
encourage the C team to keep riding. Craig, if anything good came from
your accident last week it is this: you missed this ride! We are glad you
are feeling better. Sunday was Kim’s birthday. We missed you on the
ride. May your riding always be downhill with the wind to your
back.
Yesterday started great, but ended terrible. As some of you may know, Craig Bruner had a terrible fall coming out of Weber Canyon. As the team was working hard to beat a head wind while riding down the canyon, Dr. J had just moved to the back of the line and Craig took the lead about 1 mile from the cross section that heads back to PEOA. As he always does, the pace increased from 21 to 24 mph and he went to signal the pace line of some rough road ahead and hit a chuck hole (see picture below) With one hand on the wheel for a split second, he lost control and went down.... OUCH!
We want to thank the locals for jumping in and helping with traffic control. They were AMAZING! Craig is a little beat up, but made the following comment as Dr. J, Prez Hale, Professor and the BIG MAN visited him today, "Dr. J., I'm glad it was me that went down, because I'm not sure you would have wanted to get back on the horse"
Craig, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Heal quickly....
It was a
collective effort on the ride today from Wanship up Chalk Creek to the Wyoming
boarder and back – 65 miles. Prez. Hale won stage 1, followed by Dr. J, Bruner/Biggest
Loser Coach and Professor Glauser. Even little man Lloyd with his recently
repaired back beat BIG MAN Wood on his ride to the mouth of Brighton Canyon – BIG
MAN was nowhere in sight. The day was “0” for “7” for the BIG MAN.
Getting beat
down can actually be a positive experience. It gives us a chance to reflect on
our values, goals, character, and commitment to training. Will BIG MAN decide
he doesn’t care about the shellacking and accept his role as a sold mid-level domestique
who tells good jokes, runs the camera and writes the Blog? Or will he come back
like a charging bull that has seen red? You will have to join the ride next
Saturday to find out.
One positive
outcome from the day’s ride was the team stayed together in perfect formation
from the Wyoming boarder to Coalville. When the Professor took one of his turns
out front the song “Let’s Work Together” by Canned Heat came on his iPhone. When he
looked back and saw the line as straight as a pencil it brought tears to his
eyes… :’) This may become a new trend for this typically unruly crew.
It's amazing what can happen when you put your mind to something. After watching the Tour of Utah last week and seeing some of the bikers of the Tour of Park City fly by as some of the PCRs prepared for their Saturday ride in Coalville, the BIG MAN thought, "wouldn't it be cool to win ALL 5 stages today" The first stage was to the bridge on the way to Evanston. What a beautiful morning, where the air was cool and riding two a breast was a treat up the frontage road. As the bridge came in sight, the BIG MAN waited for the right moment and FLEW by the pack to taste the victory of his 1st WIN.
Refueling. a quick visit to the bushes for some, and they were off to Henefer. Could the BIG MAN do it again??? He knew there might be a chance to win the second stage, due to the fact that little man and Prez. Hale were a NO SHOW! BIG MAN, anxiously waited in the back (where he spent most of the day) to see if anyone was going to make a move. As they went over the bridge and started their downhill towards Grump's gas station, the BIG MAN said, NOW! He shot past the field like a cannon ball and was once again smiling as no one could catch him..... WOW, two in a row, could he win three???
The next stage was a shorter stage, but had some intervals as the group took the Henefer loop. As the locals came out to cheer on the BIG MAN, he was also cheered by his fellow riders, "YOU CAN DO IT, YOU CAN DO IT", and YES another electrifying finish brought a close victory for the BIG MAN!
Stage 4, the mountain stage to the Morgan County line, was going to be almost impossible to keep the streak going, by the BIG MAN still had hope. As he was left in the dust by the other 3 riders, he realized that his dream of winning ALL stages in a single day was not going to happen. The temperature was rising and the distance between the smaller riders was also increasing. All of sudden out of no where, Burner - The Biggest Loser Coach, shows up. "BIG MAN, is this all you have, now get off your butt and let's stop feeling sorry for yourself and get riding" Then all of sudden the BIG MAN had the strength to left his head and sees ahead the leaders, Dr. J and the Professor, are pulled off the side of the road with what looks like mechanical issues........... AND Dr. J is trying to fix something, which means it going to take a LONG time so DON'T STOP to help, just fly by and take another WIN.... ;-)
Could the unthinkable really happen? Could the BIG MAN really win ALL stages in one day?? One more to go and it had a lot of down hill. Chances were slim, but the BIG MAN, with the help of the the Professor had a strategy, stay in the back and don't let anyone know where the finish line is. IT WORKED! The team made it back to Coalville and Burner - Biggest Loser Coach, took off thinking that the car was the finish line, but in reality, NO, we had to make one more loop around town to reach 60 miles and Dr. J, put worth an effort to take away the win from the BIG MAN, but didn't realize that back to the car was the finish line and just because you see a STOP SIGN, doesn't mean you have to STOP!..... :-)
YES, it was a historic day and one that will live long in the memories of those that saw something unbelievable happen.......
