As we all are watching these amazing Olympic athletes, we are reminded, "a coach is someone that tells you what you don't want to hear, who has to see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you always known you could be".... Tom Landry
Again, the PCRs enjoyed another great ride this Saturday as they left the valley early to beat the heat and enjoy riding to the summit of Wolf Creek. Dr. J, who has not been riding as much as some of the others, was reminded of the statement above by Coach "Wooden" aka BIG MAN. After the ride the coach checked in with Dr. J and was informed, "after a shower, some food, and a long nap, recovery is underway." Yes, recovery is a little harder the more "seasoned" we get.
Yesterday's ride for some was a time for contemplation and to ask themselves, "WHY Do We Do This?" WHY do we get up early in the morning and layout our stuff the night before by the front door so we don't wake-up the dog? WHY do we think we can ride like the pros and sign-up to do the Queen's Stage of the Tour of Utah? (way to go Gordon Smith and Hicks boys) WHY do we buy NEW mountain bikes and think we can still stay on them and not get bucked off? (Coach Craig's leg/hip has started to turn colors early this season) WHY do some of us think we can ride 206 miles, in 3 states, in 1 day?
Do you know your WHY? The purpose, cause, or belief that inspires you to do what you do.
YIPPY SKIPPY
Emily and Gordon, your neighbors are hungry too. Where's our bacon and eggs?
BIG MAN and BIG FOOT are both LOVING these VISTAS!
It's tough getting OLD and having to make stops before you get home.
Reveille for the Saturday PCR Ride: We started
at 5:30 a.m. by command of the poser leader/rule maker Mr. MBA.
Surprisingly 6 people showed up. Okay, it is not all that surprising
inasmuch as anyone affiliated with this group is per se unhinged
psychologically.
Route: We traveled from Wanship to Evanston,
which was dictated by the Big Man aka the wannabe shepherd of the feral cats
who call themselves the PCRs. Who put him in charge? And anyone who
did is per se psychologically unhinged if he follows Big Man more than
once, which confirms the psychological make-up of the group referred to above.
Pace setter: Sexy Legs, who has less body fat
and more muscle per square pound than a Cheetah. If the truth be told the
only pace he set was for himself. He is always way ahead of the
group. In fact, he so outclasses the other group members in every sense
of the word that he can honestly claim that he is in a class by himself
and does not have to claim any affiliation with the PRCs, other than making
cameo appearances.
Means of transportation: While many of us rode
bikes, Animal Bruner also managed to bum rides twice from two unsuspecting
owners of trucks who had no idea that when they picked up the frail,
diminutive, older looking figure with his thumb out that he wasn’t looking for a
ride down the street, but instead to the state boundary line. Not
surprising, after dropping off Bruner both Good Samaritans called all
full-time care facilities within a hundred mile radius of where they picked him
up to see if they were missing any “residents”. Not surprisingly, no one
would claim him.
Bike fuel: Ron Hicks brought with him half of the
bike energy food offerings of REI and saved Prez. Hale, who forgot his food
supply. Hicks is prepared for just about anything, except the random acts
of craziness inspired by Big Man. If Hick’s bishop is reading this, Hicks
is a great candidate for a Scout Master, although you should be aware that he
is so fastidious that all of the camp meals would likely be catered and
servants would be hired to pitch and clean the tents. Also, at the
midpoint of the ride the members of the Moveable Mancave stopped at a local
sandwich shop in Evanston for such epicurean delights as roadkill hoagies and
twice cooked three day old ground deer patties. No small wonder why it
took so long to get home. Sexy Legs, we know why you got sick. Let
the Doc know what you ingested.
Entertainment: Watching Big Man try to lead the
group; Mr. MBA make up and try to impose rules (need we remind you that as a
rookie you are not in charge of anybody and never will be); Big Man and Prez. Hale failing to record on Strava their mileage and more importantly the ascent for
the day; watching 6 old men try to suck in their guts (okay, only 4 really had
to; you can guess which ones from the photos) for photographs along the way;
watching Big Man sing for the PRC’s breakfast at Pinecliff Camp in front of
dozens of future soccer stars who wondered about what institution he escaped
from (Big Man, they were not laughing with you), and listening to all of the
creative excuses proposed by the PCRs during the ride become fused into a
cohesive story about what they were going to tell their better halves when they got
home about why they were so late (we reached our designation at 3:30 p.m.; Big
Man don’t crack under the cross when you get home: we all need to stick with
the one “true” story).
Priceless: Riding with biking brothers and
making it alive (at least until we got home to our better halves and Big Man
cracks under cross examination), and listening to Mr. MBA’s following TATS:
The Day Before My Day
By: Gloria Liu a Senior Editor
of Bicycling Magazine
“Apparently, feeling short on
time is not unique to our modern era. In 1910, writer Arnold Bennett
observed in a book, How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, “Now the great and profound
mistake which my typical man makes in regard to his day is a mistake of general
attitude … He persists in looking upon those hours from ten to six as ‘the
day,’ to which the ten hours preceding them and the six hours following them
are nothing but a prologue and epilogue… [But] if my typical man wishes to live
fully and completely he must, in his mind, arrange a day within a day”
There are a number of
reasons that I often wake up pre-sunrise for trail rides—how quiet and pretty
the woods are, getting my ride done, even warding off seasonal affective
disorder in the winter. But my favorite thing about dawn patrol is that I
roll into work feeling like I’ve already had a day before my day. Seeing
and doing something a little unconventional before I start “adulting” at 9 a.m.
makes me feel like I’m sneaking in extra adventure time, and that it all
eventually adds up to some bonus living.
To “bonus living”, even if our ride seemed to last three
days!
YIPPY SKIPPY
Early morning temps in the 60s with the sun in your face is the BEST!
Always stop and appreciate the local art.... WOW!
Always ride with the EAGLES, because I know we work with a lot of turkeys
Our two favorite water stops!
If you're nice and sing to them, they will feed you....
"OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING"
We did it!
The end to a GREAT DAY!
PS - If you blow a tire, take it back for a FREE NEW one... :-)
Today's ride introduced NEW jerseys, NEW vistas, NEW friends and NEW records of most elevation in a single ride, 9,097 ft. The original plan was to ride to the top of Guardsman Pass and back down the canyon and head north and do Little Mtn, forming a "U" in the journey. As the fearsome foursome made it to the top of the pass, someone suggested they should ride down into Park City and back. Coach Craig was the only one that had ridden Empire Pass before and assured everyone they could do it without dying.
The vistas were breathtaking and the decent into Park City made Prez. Hale start to cry, realizing he had to go up, what he just came down. The group decided to make a pit stop before turning around to climb back to Guardsman Pass and Prez. Hale decided he had had enough. "I'm going home" and he took off toward I-80. If anyone has seen Prez. Hale, please let Kathy know he is not dead. (Life is better when you stick together)
After Mr. MBA sat and enjoyed a beverage of some sort that gave him extra-human powers, the group began their climb. (Mr. MBA was the KOM today for all summits, WHAT AN ANIMAL)
They ran into a group that introduced them to a route to avoid 13-15 degree climbs, but still had to ride the bumping road to the top of Guardsman Pass. BIG MAN almost got off his bike at one point and started to walk.
Once reaching the summit for a second time, BIG MAN demonstrated why he is called the BIG MAN, as he used all 187 lbs to make it down the canyon in record time. This is a route that will be ridden again in the fall as the autumn leaves are turning vibrant colors. WOW, what a GREAT ride!
July has been a month of mountains for many of the PCRs. With the temps in the 90s in the valley, Strava's July Climbing Challenge of 8,000 meters, and for some a chance to prove that they can do all four Canyons in one day, LCC, BCC, MCC and Little Mtn., the training is paying off.
The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race. In the Tour de France, the leader in the mountains competition wears a distinctive polka dot jersey. Among the "seasoned" riders (geezers) category the jersey has changed hands several times this month and there has been a lot of "smack" talk as who is going to keep it by the end of the month. Mr. MBA, Prez Hale and BIG MAN are all gunning for it. Currently, BIG MAN is wearing the jersey and has plans on keeping it. However, Prez. Hale reminds us all the following:
Back in 1970, the movie Patton won 7 Academy Awards. It was about U.S. General George S. Patton's
roll in the Allied Force's defeat of Germany during World War II. There is a scene at the conclusion of the
movie that I will never forget. Germany
was in ashes and occupied by the Allied Forces.
Seemly, it was a time to be jubilant.
But Patton, reflecting on the victory, mused: "For over a thousand years Roman
conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous
parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from
conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured
armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners
walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with
him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror
holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is
fleeting." Before you run out to
buy a polka dot jersey just remember "all glory is fleeting."
July is here and so is the HEAT. So what do we do, RIDE IN THE MOUNTAINS. The last couple of rides have once again made the PCRs realize why we live where we do. These Utah mountains are the BEST!
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn."
