Spring HOOT

Without other calves against which to compare, this pair of calves looks rather ordinary but in truth, had Jeff S flexed, the explosion of muscular mass would have required a wide angle lens to capture.

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While crawling around the parking lot looking for interesting images, I came across this interesting pair of socks, worn by Craig Butler, The Boss.

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The lone figure is Dennis, who spent the week in Chicago eating and drinking way too much.  Dennis and I were team mates on Savage Hill racing team but because he was first string, he gets to still wear the jersey.  Because I was third string, I am not allowed to wear the jersey so mine sits in mothballs.

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Ginger Update--Several people have inquired about Ginger and the standard reply has been, since she is racing she doesn't have time for us.  Not true.  Out of respect for her privacy, all I should say is, May was a tough month, leading up to a scheduled surgery, which went well last week.  Ginger will be laid up for awhile but expects to rejoin the peloton this fall.  Send her an email to cheer her.

What a great day for a bike ride!  Good turnout at Pastor Mark's church for Spring Hoot.  Being a card carrying member of AARP, the Thursday New Albany ride and a good trail run on Friday, left me with little in the tank.  For some dumb reason I started out with Craig, Jeff, Dennis, Andrew, Steve, Recumbent Dude, Kevin, Ryan, Todd and Stefano.  The route was rolling but just the standard roads we see on Tuesday Canal.  After a few miles, Todd, also a member of AARP and still recovering from Thursday and a Friday ride, dropped back with Sefano to join the Kenda gang.  A few miles more, I told Dennis I too was dropping and he decided to do the same.  We rode together for a couple of miles until he got tired of riding so slow and took off.  At Cedar Hill and Ridge, I stopped and waited for a slower group.  Instead I got Woody, Larry, Todd, Lisa and Stefano (he is in marketing for Kenda tires) and Dennis joined too.  We stayed together until the gas station in Amanda.

In Amanda, we saw Pastor Mark and Randy, going for a 150 mile day, Flying Tuna and Belinda's friend, Glenn.  Glenn is into sprint distances in cycling and I think running but mostly on flat courses.  I got the impression the hills, which were so far very moderate, were a bit of a new experience. Retro George also rolled in, as did Kenda Dave. We had a drink and left with a good group of Todd, George, Larry, Lisa, Dennis, Dave and Woody.  We headed towards Revenge and I hung back, wanting to take it easy until I realized if George beat me to the top, I would never hear the end of it  I found him somewhere towards the middle and struggled by him but noted he was ahead of Dennis, still digesting too many Chicago steaks.  We regrouped at the top and then rode to Sugar Grove via Blue Valley and a mostly downhill to flat route.  Spent some time at the market before a large group of us headed towards Bremen.  I had hoped we would not get there via either Savage or Carpenter but it was not to be.  Up Savage but then a nice downhill on Duffy and then the flat run-in to Bremen via Bremen Road. Ate a very tasty Italian sub and was joined by Tuna, Mark, Randy, Todd, Stefano and Dave.  The 80 mile route took us out of Bremen via Marietta and then West Rushville Road, an up and down super roller.  The balance of the route was just rolling and finished in time to watch Tiger, on tv, roll in an eagle at the Memorial.

For any golfers out there, a very long time ago, for 10 consecutive years, I repaired golf clubs for touring pros at the Memorial tournament  I have some great memories of repairing or altering golf clubs for all the greats of that era, including Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Seve, Tom Watson, Palmer, etc...  I repaired the clubs in an out-of-the-way room and the pros and caddies would come back, "let their hair down" and tell some great stories and jokes.  One of my favorite players was Jim Thorpe,a former college football player with the nickname of "Mo-Fo" because he frequently used the full version of the words after hitting an errant shot.  The networks did not dare have him on live audio during telecasts.

Get well soon Ginger.  We miss you.

Way ahead of the start, a few of the cyclists are nevertheless ready to go, including Jeff S on the right, Craig (the Boss) behind and to his right, Nathan (recumbent dude) in the foreground and the guy yapping to his left is George.  Between them is Andrew, still recovering from a triathlon.

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