Sunday, December 18, 2011

Andice for Christmas

Elite crew of middle aged dads met at Scheible's house for the 50 mile roundtripper (Andice from Avery Ranch). Me, Scheibs, The Badger, Ullrich, VJ and Bergamo lit out at 8am.

Weather was better than expected. No rain, 42 degrees and a slight headwind (10mph) on the initial leg. Not really a hardman ride, but we were ready for one. You know, as ready as a bunch of middle aged dads can be for anything remotely challenging.

Pace on the way up was pretty measured. We discussed the things middle aged dads enjoy talking about. You know, trips to Lowe's, power tools, sports car renovations. Oh yeah, and we talked about Rey. All good stuff mind you. After much deliberation we concluded that Rey is our crazy cousin, the one with the broken filter. Drinks a little too much at family gatherings, ends up cussing out gramps, then executing a suplex on the Christmas tree, raising his arms in Pyrrhic victory. While not certain, Rey's afflictions are likely temporary, cured with a steady dose of a decade of marriage, diapers, excessive carbs and some constant reminders from his silverbacked cousins.

Following our diagnosis, we turned up a little heat to Andice, eaking out a little middle aged spirit in the middle of our little middle aged ride to the middle of little Andice.

We regrouped at the general store. Ullrich drank a coke and some pickle juice. A true violation of the senses. VJ pulled his now-patented "hit the head right as we all prepare to leave" move. A truly interesting phenomenon.

Did I mention that Bergamo is in the Christmas Spirit? He has wrapped some christmas lights around his Trek. While the bike itself rolled off the assembly line about a millisecond after the Penny Farthing, the Christmas lights really bring it up to date. I appreciated his gesture to level the playing field. Note that Bergie IS a father, but is NOT middle aged. Yet. We are patiently waiting Bergie. Much like you wait for us at the top of the hill.

The ride back gifted us with a tailwind. We didn't set any segment bests (Tailie wasn't that strong!), but we did pass a bunch of guys that appeared to be middle aged dads out for a weekend ride. (One of them looked a little like future Rey).

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