The post Cranky recovery ride on Monday at PSP brought a lot of stiffness to the stems hanging off my waist. Decided to take it easy for the rest of the week and stay off the bike until the weekend. Friday was not only my 4th straight day off the bike but also a day full of rain showers. Was looking questionable whether the pre-ride at the Scout Camp would take place or not. CED said it was a go!

Met two of the other 3 members or Yoda Lama's Juicy Sin. This was the first time riding with Chris (Lama) and Gonyo (Yoda). Knew they were fast and quite frankly was afraid I would not be able to keep up coming off of the Cranky Monkey and subsequent week off the bike.

John Gonyo aka 'Yoda'

Chris Dauley 'Lama' (right) Rick (left)

Headed out for the first lap around the ~9 mile course which had me chasing Yoda and Lama. The initial pace had me searching for my legs. At one point I almost started yelling out "Marco" in hopes they would reply with a "Polo", but to no avail. The singletrack is a bit overgrown in areas next to the lake. Be careful around those parts. Handlebar creatures live in those parts. Seems I was not fast enough through that section to avoid their grasps. Down I went when I hear Yoda say, "Andy's down". Replying with an embarrassed "I'm OK" I hurry back to the bike and try to catch up. Lucky for me they eased up a bit. Rest of the lap went alright considering the amount of work it was to climb the slick hills and it was unbelievably hard to breath in the thick humid air.

After all the rain on Friday the course was a little more than tacky in most places and down right sloppy in others. Having fun playing in the mud, we stopped by the lot after the first lap so the Lama could adjust air pressures when I saw a familiar face ready-ing himself for a lap.

JB

We jumped back onto the trail and was delighted to find the ridden tracks packing fairly well which made riding seem a little less than work and a bit more fun. My legs finally replied with a faint "Polo" and I was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable in the saddle. Made it through the overgrowth where the handlebar creatures lurk without a hitch. So now the legs are responding somewhat when my lungs decide they need more O2 than I could take in. Finished the lap out sounding like an asthmatic moose. Made it out alive and with every passing lap around that place I look forward to the 18 hr race that much more.