Today's ride was a great celebration as they PCRs summited Big Mountain for the fist time this season to sing happy birthday to Mr. MBA, 61 years young, and he can still kick your butt. He was given the reins to pick the route and ETD and for some it was a little too early, and too much. However, those who arose early had another EPIC ride. Big Man had been out recruiting and Greg Peterson (King of Tarts) joined the PCRs today. He was a little quiet when he first joined the group, not knowing what to think, and when the ride was over he was still not knowing what to think. "Are these geezers for real?" Big Man favored the group with another thought provoking TATS:
"It's OK to have fear, but it's not OK to fear the chance to try. I learned this lesson from my grandmother, who said, The brave do not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all."
- Nikki Stone, Olympic Champion -
The descent back down the canyon was a fast one, with several needing to get back for soccer games, honey dos, birthday gifts, etc. Queen of Wraps was feeling his oats after being up since 3 AM with his young daughter and wanted to see if the geezers really could stay in his wake. GQ was sporting a new parole ankle bracelet and hopes he will have it off by the end of the season. Big Man continues to encourage all the PCRs to make new friends, even if it means breaking away from the group once in awhile.... :-) (watch video, and meet Nate)
YIPPY SKIPPY
Big Man had to pull back on his sprint to the summit to allow these young bucks to beat him knowing,
Today
the PCRs rode the Salt Lake Marathon Bike Ride in memory of our brothers Kim
Briggs and Jon Cook. We have many fond memories of raising our
families together with them.
We
got started a little late because it has been so long since Sexy Legs has
ridden with the PRCs that he forgot he needed to be on time! His
performance, however, showed he has not forgotten how to ride. Scott
Jensen aka Mr. GQ showed up stylin’ with his bright orange helmet and fancy
bike. His performance was worthy of his high-class
gear. John Stringham, the mystery man, showed up, but only for a
while! He was soon lost in the sea of cyclists never to be seen
again. He claims he finished, but there are no
witnesses. John, if it ain’t on Strava it did not
happen. You better learn that if you are going to ride with
us. Baby Face James, who rides with us once a year in the marathon
bike ride showed up as well. To look at him you would think he was
15 years of age, but he claims he has a child who is 19. Hmm, wonder
how that happened? See you next year James. Craig the
“Younger Hale” showed up, kinda. After a couple of miles his tire
went flat. He taught his older brother the Pirate’s Code “You fall
behind; you get left behind”. And though Younger Hale is 10 years
younger than his brother Prez, Younger Hale never caught up to his geriatric
brother. Mr. T joined the crew for the ride this
year. His energy is boundless.
At
the conclusion of the ride the group gathered at Les Madeleines located by the
old downtown Salt Lake library where world famous chef Romina Rasmussen purveys
her Kouign amann, a crusty cake. Here is where Big Man and Mr. T
really came to life. When the PCRs arrived the store was not
opened, but if you know Big Man you know that he will not take no
for an answer. He talked his way into the pastry shop, and Mr. Money
Bags T gave the clerk a hefty tip for letting the group warm themselves inside
early. Big Man bought a round of Kouign amann for this band of
brothers. The scent of the pastries soon wafted into the downtown
streets of Salt Lake, beckoning dozens of patrons to the shop. The PCRs consumed their treats and soon found themselves in a sugar induced
coma,. In that state of mind, Big Man and Mr. T persuaded the PCRs and
the rest of the restaurant patrons to sing, you got, “Oh What a Beautiful
Morning” and it was.
"Now pay attention, there are a lot of riders and it's early"
I
If I get a flat, just leave me behind.... REALLY?
I'M BACK!
Anyone seen Stringham?
Ready, Get Set, EAT!
During this ride we all spent a few minutes “thinking of the days that are no more”, when we were with Kim and Jon. We look forward to when we will all sing together “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” as we roll along smooth roads, tail winds at our backs, gazing upon the beautiful vistas of God’s creation. Vicki and Liz, we love you and are thinking of you. YIPPY SKIPPY
The previous two week's rides have taken some from the red rocks to the base of the white covered mountains. YES, only in this great state of Utah can you experience such beauty in the same month. A great journey was planned to St. George by our recent semi-retired, Dr. J. However, due to a last minute battle of a bad cold and the fear of letting Big Man walk away with KOMs, Dr. J. had to bow out of an EPIC trip. Big Man won't stop talking about it or is it, he just won't stop talking??
Yesterday, another trio set out to ride to the lake as they took in the view of our beautiful snow capped mountains. But due to weak legs, honey-dos, and the Red & White game, (not sure which) only two made it. Big Man wanted to take a dip in the natural hot springs, but was afraid he might be riding home a lone, which he kinda did anyway as Prez. Hale ran a little short on energy and speed on the way back. (Stop waking up at 3 AM, prior to the ride, to do your reading, sit-ups and push-ups.)
YIPPY SKIPPY
A few ponies sighted on the ride
Love this flag - Hurricane, UT
We made it to the TOP and guess who was first???
Big Man, we don't have time for you to take a dip.... Let's go!
Spring is nature's way of reminding us that every day is worthy of celebration.
Yesterday's ride was truly a ride of celebration as the PCRs left the hood a little early to catch a 6:22 AM train in Murray to ride to Lehi and start their journey to enjoy a morning sunrise as they rode to the top of Suncrest. As usual, the ride was not without a lot of laughter, chatter and a little mishap as Mighty Max left his helmet on the train and had to wait for its return to retrieve it. The geezers left the youngster and told him to catch them on the downside, which he did. With a hour wait, Max did a little adventure-cising and took some great pictures of the true meaning of Easter. (see below)
The early hour of departure meant an earlier return, which caused Big Man a long day of mowing lawns and working in the gardens in preparation for a Sunday Easter Egg Hunt with the grandkids. Where's the ibuprofen? YIPPY SKIPPY
Every March 17th, thousands of people don their greenest garb, march in the Irish pride parades, eat green clover-shaped cookies, and quaff frosty mugs of green beer in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. But do you really know who St. Patrick was and why he is celebrated?
He was born in AD 387 just south of Hadrian's wall in Britain, which was part of the Roman Empire (that's right - he wasn't Irish!). He was captured by Irish pagans in the early teens and taken to Ireland, where he was enslaved for six years. During that time, he grew to like the "spirit of the Irish". When he escaped and returned to his family, he vowed to one day return to Ireland.
He studied at monasteries on the continent and was eventually ordained a priest and then a bishop. Pop Celestine I commissioned Patrick to be an apostle to Ireland.
He, too, like some of the PCRs today, encountered many hardships among the people. They weren't willing to give up their power over the old religion and feared Patrick and Christianity. Little by little the old religion began to fade. He baptized, confirmed and ordained priests, and he erected schools and monasteries. Thousands came into the fold under his direction and he accomplished all this in less than 30 years.
In the "spirit of the Irish", whatever that is, a few of the PCRs set out for an early morning ride hoping to eat a few green treats, sing a few songs, drinks some warm spirits and beat a storm that was forecast to hit around 9AM. Well, let's just say they accomplished 3 of 4.
PS - .... and remember, when you come home wet and dirty, undress in the garage or have Mr. T come help you with arranging your wet/dirty riding gear so you don't get in trouble with you know who.
If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough!
Riding outdoors in Salt Lake City, UT during the winter months is sometimes a challenge. This year, OLD MAN WINTER was a little late in coming and January and February had several windows for great outside biking. Why just yesterday, a few decided to "ride before the storm" while others slaved away at work......... BORING! As always, they were greeted with great sunrises and vistas of the valley.
If you ride early enough, you sometimes run into the paper boy and he will tell you the best place in town to stop and get a little treat. However, if your better half hears you didn't bring any home for her, you're once again in the dog house. (What else is new)
YES, living in Salt Lake City, UT is the BEST. If you're tired of the weather, just wait a couple of days or in yesterday's case, a couple of hours.
b : a
time, place, or means of connection or transition-building a bridge between
the two cultures-the bridge from war to peace.”
--Merriam
Webster--
Today
the PCR’s allowed Big Man to choose the route (CTR).He insisted we ride north to “experience” a
new bridge that opened along the Jordan River Parkway just off North Temple
(the following is a link to Salt Lake County’s map of the trial system: http://slco.org/parks/trails/).
In case you were unaware, Salt Lake, Weber, Davis and Utah counties have done a
fantastic job of planning and developing a pedestrian/bike trail system that
connects communities as far east to where 1% er TR lives, to the Jordan River
where beaver, deer, and fox roam (see Jordan River Commission’s
following link for information about the river: http://jordanrivercommission.com/the-river/).The network also connects communities as far south
as Utah Lake (fyi the first European to witness that lake was Father Silvestre
Velez de Escalante, in 1776), with communities to the north in Ogden,
originally named Fort Buenaventura, which was established in 1846 by a trapper
named Miles Goodyear, and which the astute Captain James Brown acquired the
very next year from Mexico for a whopping $3,000 (chump change for a guy like
Mr. MBA).These communities have rich
histories of ever changing cultures.
These days some
Americans here talk of building a “really big wall” along our southern border
in an attempt to prevent illegal immigration by our brothers and sisters to the
south.While protecting borders and
development of rational immigration programs are necessary duties of governments,
like building bridges the manner in which we go about doing so requires
thoughtful planning and a long range vision that we are all visitors on this
planet which will be inhabited by generations to come.
Our civilization
is a melting pot of new and ever changing cultures.Life is just that way.A wall with never change that fact.Remains of walls constructed by other great, long
since gone, are stark reminders that barriers will never stop change.In 122 A.D. the Roman’s commenced
construction of Hadrian’s Wall, which stretches across the breadth of
Britannia, as its clutch upon world power began to slip. And during its
reign the Ming Dynasty rebuilt the Great Wall of China, but its empire is no
more.What message does America send to
its neighbors by building its wall?
Emma Lazarus
wrote the poem “New Colossus”.She gifted
her rights to it to an auction organized to raise money for construction of the
pedestal for the Statue of Liberty.A
plaque bearing the poem is posted in the inner wall of that great edifice’s
pedestal.The poem expresses a time
honored American tradition of offering a bridge to its “golden door” to the
“poor” and the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free”.The entrance way to our great land of
opportunity is not hidden for a choice few to enter, but is illuminated by Lady
Liberty’s lamp.Lazarus wrote:
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep[,] ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
--Emma Lazarus--
Instead
building a wall to shut out our third largest trading partner to the south of
our border, let us construct ways of acknowledging the importance of our boundaries,
tempered by the recognition of our economic and cultural ties to neighbors. Rather than projecting to the world that we fear
our neighbors and feel the need to display power by military parades to those
who think we are weak, let us continue in our fine tradition as a beacon to the
world of the fruits of liberty. Let us
demonstrate the satisfaction of living that comes from the quest for the
pursuit of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that comes from brotherly/sisterly
love for which the city that is the cradle of our great civilization was so
aptly named.
In
the meantime, get off your couches, get on your bikes, and explore the network
of trails for which you have paid!
YIPPY SKIPPY
MBA is loved no matter where he rides... :-)
Prez.Hale loves Kathy so much, he had a statue made!
The judges have finally nominated the winner of Best Pics for 2017.
