2020 is like 1616, 1717, 1818, and 1919, because the first two digits match the second two digits... Living in 2020 is special because it is the only year we will live with these specific digits. The next year that follows this pattern is 2121.
Now there are many that would say, "I'll sure be glad when 2020 is over" We have gone through a lot of things that have tested us. Here are just a few:
- Australian and West Coast Fires
- Prince Harry and Megan Markle Quit Royal Family
- Earthquakes
- COVID-19 Pandemic / Masks
- Kobe Bryant's Death
- Hurricane Force Winds in SLC, UT
- Elections
- Sporting Events Being Cancelled
So, what's there to be THANKFUL FOR? It sure seems like we hear a lot about the negative and the positive takes a back seat. However, thank goodness that someone invented the BIKE to help us get through these trying times with therapy, exercise, great vistas, laughter, singing, cool/cold mornings, head dunks, bells, flat tires, and watching the quick and SLOW fixes.... 😂
There have been many rides this 2020 season that have tested the PCRs' faith, endurance and will not be forgotten for a long time.
YIPPY SKIPPY
June - The Big Loop
KOT, once again led the boys on 113 miles, 9 hrs of Moving Time, 10,013 ft up BCC, to Park City, Browns Canyon, Wanship, Henefer, East Canyon, Big Mtn, Emigration Canyon and Home. WOW! what a day. Once again, Prez Hale got lost along the way and rode from Park City to Wanship by himself and missed out riding with Eric Heiden, 5 individual gold medalist, 1980 Winter Games. Big Man, was quick to show him how to go downhill, but loved drafting him on the flats.
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It's always good to start with HOPE!
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We made it... OK, Stay with the group on the way down!
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July - Evanston 100 (almost)
What would July be without a quick visit to Evanston, WY. As a kid, this was a must to buy fireworks that weren't available in UT and hope you didn't get pulled over coming home. This route proved to be full of excitement. The riders saw turkeys, deer and even an antelope as they had to pedal on a little dirt to cross the border. Big Man had a chance to revisit with his buddy, AJ Barker, and they both had a good laugh as they recalled their first visit a couple years ago as Big Man was trying to find some water on his property. "Hey, don't you know you're trespassing?" Due to COVID and NO dining-in, the gang had to make a quick drive through Wendy's to get a little fuel to make it back home.
(94.98 miles, 6:01 Moving Time, 4, 662 ft)
Prez Hale shared the following TATS:
“One ship drives east and another drives west. With the selfsame winds that blow. Tis the set of the sails and not the gales which tells us the way to go.
Like the winds of the seas are the ways of fate, As we voyage along through the life:
Tis the set of a soul That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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You can sure tell you're in WY
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August - Thelma & Louise to Hanna
Let's go where we've never been before, was the call for August's EPIC ride. The route to the top of Wolf Creek Summit had been visited by many several times, but what's on the other side proved to MOST EXCELLENT. A 18 mile downhill decent into Hanna was pure ecstasy for Lightning Legs Dunn and Sexy Legs Trabert, as they left the group in the dust. Big Man just had to stop and check out Max's Meat, Est. 1974,and saw the owner butchering a deer and cow for some of the locals. Queen Linda shared an awesome TATS, while KOT was scolded for leaving the group before she was finished... :-) Oh, and if you have never tried Coffee Gu, 25 mg of caffeine, you might want to make sure your heart can handle it before you start your 18 mile climb back to the summit.
(87.11 miles, 6:09 Moving Time, 6,636 ft)
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Let the downhill begin
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A little reward for being KOM
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September - COVID-19 LOTOJA
With most major sporting events being cancelled due to COVID, the big question was will they be able to pull this off?. When registering, the event coordinators gave you the option to get a partial refund or apply funds to next year's event, if they had to cancel. The PCRs kept training in hopes that they would be able to participate. With weeks to go, it looked like it was going to happen, BUT what do they do now for a support crew? "I'm not interested in driving 12-13 hours, bringing food and drinks to a bunch of GEEZERS, trying to prove they are still young by riding 206 miles, 3 states, in one day AND being worried about standing in crowds during this epidemic."
"Professor" Russ Anderson to the RESCUE! Big Man came up with a brilliant strategy and made a call to a true "Adventure Seeker" to see if he would be interested in helping, The Professor, said YES, not really knowing what he was getting into. However, I'm not sure who had more fun, the riders or Russ, sharing history, stories of near-death experiences and people he had met in every little town they drove through on the way home from Jackson Hole, WY to SLC, UT.
Just a few of the highlights:
- Leaving SLC at 4AM the day of the race, hoping to find Lia, KOT and Sexy Legs before the race starts.
- Big Man gets a flat just outside of Preston and MBA stays with him to get it repaired and has the support van blow-up the flat tube to verify his concern, that patched tubes are NOT A GOOD idea. Big Man has a new name, PATCHES.
- Gang reaches first summit/feed zone and while they are taking a bathroom break and getting food and liquids, a LOUD explosion occurs. PATCHES hears the noise while in the porta potty and says, OOPS, someone just put too much air in their tire. Prez Hale's bike, we guess, had had enough and the TIRE and TUBE blew while just laying on the ground. Let's just say, THANKS Lia for your calming influence, patience, and red truck to help keep Prez in the game and the rest of the GEEZERS smiling.
- Professor Anderson having all sorts of fun hauling all their drinks/food to the curb and trying not to get lost.
- Prez Hale gets tire/tube fixed after 3 flats and meets the group in Afton with fresh legs and a BIG SMILE. There was a rumor he was going to call an Uber to come take him home.
- Anyone seen Sexy Legs??
- Alpine, last stop before the finish and the gang is glad Prez still had fresh legs to pull them home. But wait a minute, a few minutes out of Alpine, Hale's pony gets another flat, REALLY???? They all kiss him good bye and tell him to stick out his thumb.
- Still no Sexy Legs and they have now lost KOT (Lia, what did you do to your man in Alpine? He's riding like a madman)
- The last couple of miles the riders are re-routed to avoid construction and traffic and have to cross a wooden bridge and go up a slight hill with a cattle crossing grate, which causing Brian "Cruise Control" Lloyd to get his tire stuck and he does a nice endo.... OUCH!
- KOT waits at the finish line, while Sexy Legs is done and NOT feeling good. Can you say "dehydration". Prez Hale is now in his street clothes with medals hanging from his neck for all the riders worried they would not finish before they closed the race down, at 8:30 PM.
- (204.52 miles, 12.14 Moving Time, 9,220 ft)
October - Squaw Peak & Mtn. Nebo Loop
Another couple of maiden voyages were highlights in October. First, the Squaw Peak Summit route was full of color, vistas, singing and a coordinated effort by the seasoned riders to fix a flat for the Queen. She was in heaven as three of her followers got her back riding in no time.
(52.14 miles, 3:33 Moving Time, 2,794 ft)
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How many PCRs does it take to change a flat?
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What A View
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Second, Mtn. Nebo Loop had been on the bucket list and finally four brave cowboys decided to mount their ponies see what all the talk was about. It lived up to its reputation and more. Madman Max was strong on the climbs and showed his Old Man that he can still beat him to the top, even when he gives him a HUGE head start. However, he finally realized that his trusty Orange Creamsicle of a bike is no match for the Litespeed on the flats.
(71.17 miles, 5:07 Moving Time, 6,451 ft)
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Trusty Orange Creamsicle
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