starting with the oatmeal

I'm not sure if it was the peanut butter, the nut & raisin mix or the soy milk, but it was about the best bowl of oatmeal I can remember. The coffee was great. A visit from Stone for a last cup of joe. The smell from the propane tank was making me think I should have a headache. Maybe it was the Coleman heater. Either way, that part wasn't good. But, it didn't seem to hurt Jon or I, so maybe it wasn't that bad either. Scary though. Kaboom!

Pete Schow fixed the smell for a little bit. Tim leaves for Cammie. Cammie and Tim come back with minutes to spare. Deanweed has the ultimate timing on a bike swap. Nobody does it better. Fride was up at 5 for 3rd row. Got spots for his bro and his amigo too. What a guy! Amino Vital at 7. Sports Legs at 9 with a meal replacement chaser. Oh wait. Dinner! Angry Minnow. Burgers, Salad and Pale Ale. They hired all the Hayward High School cheer leaders to serve up the grub. Should someone be able to serve beer if they don't know how good it is?

Sat. Frost on the tire. Frost on the bars. Leg warmers. Knickers. Three layers of of wool, fleece and shell. Toasty. Locks on the bathrooms until 8. Yikes. Do they know who they are dealing with? Got a fresh one though and it was nice. Start. Peel off all the warmth except arm warmers and a bkb cap. Good to go! Shake hands with EZ on the way in. Lined up with Tomac and Stone. 6 rows from the front. Too far back. Next year 2nd or 3rd row. Yeah, I know and just I don't give a shit!

Rollout was fast and crashy. Rosies was fast and smooth. The next 35 miles were magic. Being passed by Stone was expected. Passing him back was not. Didn't feel right. Didn't feel worthy. Still don't. Last 5 miles was a full on bike race with drafting, attacks, pulls and sprints. Icing on the fucking cake! It was the wheels! Post race. Greg LeMond stories of flirtation, redemption, offspring and glory days. A thin, young mini LeMond was there to keep dad in check. Fast kid. The Lalonde boys know how to play. Kenwood racers all with good tales to tell. Missing some familiar faces. A final MNR BBQ Ball Buster before the snow flies might be in order to get caught up.