Dumb Old Man

My plans to ride 3 days during the week seemed to have come together. Monday I hit the gym for my little old man weight routine, Tuesday I rode with Giant and Blank at Tom Brown, then Wednesday by myself (more on that later) at Forest Meadows, and Thursday with Bob Marley and friends at TB again.

On Monday Rupe had other plans and I had posted that I was riding at Tom Brown but after checking the radar and getting an email from TMBA about going to Munson I switched. On the way Giant called and said they were going to TB so I diverted again.

Giant wasn't feeling up to snuff after a weekend of moto and wanted to take it easy so we rolled at a moderate pace over to Kudzilla and around to Lobolly where we stopped for a breather in the sweltering heat. After a few minutes I needed a breeze so I suggested we roll easy and talk while we ride and for a change to keep the pace low I jumped out in front. This must have been seen as some sort of a challenge even though I had stated my intentions before I started pedaling because the chatter behind me started almost immediately. Something about me not going very fast and not wanting to be competitive which I took to mean they didn't want to roll slow and were ready to ride. Blank keeps telling me he needs a good workout so I tried my best to give him one even if I felt like puking on all the hills. Hey, it's the kind of guy I am.

When I stopped at our normal place to take off my glasses Giant was nowhere to be found and when Blank pulled up he said he had turned back. My mistake! It was just so much fun to ride hard by myself without worrying about Rupe. Yea I know that's a week excuse. So by the time Blank and got back to the truck Giant had already left. To make things even better I had ridden too hard coming back in and didn't give myself a chance to cool down so I was sweating like a pig and having trouble getting my heart rate down while we loaded up. Dumb old man!

After sending out the email for the FM Wednesday ride Blank replied he had forgotten to wash his riding clothes and Giant said he was 50/50, Clever said he might make it which we all know means no way in hell he's coming. I pulled up to the tennis courts at the appointed time to find Giants truck already there along with 3 other trucks that belonged to some very fast moto guys. I realized I had been dumped in favor of a more star studded group, sigh .

I rode our normal route and enjoyed the ride since it was the first time FM had been dry in a while. I had thought to bring my tunes just in case and that was a treat to ride with a sound track. Giant had left me a note on my truck when I finished my first loop and it seems we were riding in opposite directions so I changed gloves and headed out to finish the ride.

The flurry of emails Thursday morning left me no doubt I had been dumped even though Giant said I was pouting. Imagine that! Bob Marley emailed me about going to TB that evening along with Jwheeldeal which would have been unusual because he doesn't really like TB. When I got to the parking lot at 5:30 it was 99 degrees on my truck thermometer. We met a couple who rode with us to the lake crossing then turned around but no Jwheeldeal which I wasn't surprised. BM and I rode across to the Alford Greenway and the jungle that that trail has become and came back on Cadillac. A nice way to finish the work week.