This weekend was like an out of order four course meal

As the title states, this weekend was like an out of order four course meal.

The entree' came first. It was a small, but great ride. I met Jim, Chris and Steve for a little east side mtb'ing. After they were tired from trail maintence, I went and threw down some washed up expert beatin' on 'em. Helping my unexplainable urge to ride hard was the fact that I was on a full suspension bike - with gears. Something I haven't done in awhile. Man, you can really go fast with a big ring.

Then, I cleansed my palate with a nugget of a challenge. The boys (Jim and Steve) talked me into doing the Turkey Trot (5k, not the 10k version). It wasn't hard to do. A few minutes later at the after ride lunch at Tijuana Flats, Zak was comitted too.

Next up was the cheese and crackers. On the drive home I reflected back to the last time I ran 3 miles. It was with Dan over a year ago. The time before that was with RC, probably two years ago. On both occasions I was incredibly miserable and way out of shape. My problem ankle was, well, a problem. I started to think I had made a bad decision to do this run. So, off to test the waters I go. I put in about 25 minutes of running (at least three miles I hope). No real significant pain; probably due to the Mona Vie Active that I drink :)

I cleanse my palate again. This time, between courses, I opt for the hunching over the kitchen counter while trying to warm a bottle of milk and not pass out from oxygen debt maneuver. Success.

Then came the appetizer. Well it was like an entree' but there was not enough food to be considered an entree', so it was an appetizer. The wife and I had another date night. After a trip to Target, we headed to Tapas for some overpriced, ill portioned food. I have to admit, though, the food and ambiance was great. Because we got to Tapas so early, we had the whole place to ourselves. No one else. I can't remember what we had, but it came on large rectangular plates and the water was served in tall skinny glasses. Its a pretty cool place. Kinda like Mozaics and that other place I used to hate on Monroe Street. Not much bang for the buck, but definitely good food, good times.

The salad came in the form of reading through the ride emails for Sunday plans. I laughed out loud (thats LOL to some of you) when I saw Dariens emails. Saturday night he was this tough, single, care free cyclist ready to go ride. The only thing standing in his way of a four hour cross ride was getting the address for where the ride was starting. Then, come Sunday morning, he is daddy pee pee poo poo pants and not only is he not going to be riding that day - he probably won't even step outside of his own house.

Finally, dessert. We didn't get to select it, as in "by choice", but boy was it good. The 'ole lady and I were on a walk with the dogs and the baby. We were heading back from an ABC loop, walking by Bagel Bagel when we saw Steve ride by on his road bike. As he looped around to come greet us, he had the not so brilliant idea of trying to be cool. He came, full bore, rear wheel locked up slinging it out powerslide right up to our feet - on his road bike. For a second, maybe even two, Cortney and I both thought that he looked cool as ice. Now, that is someone with some skill. Some may try that on a MTB in the dirt, but rarely does anyone have the nuts to try to pull that on pavement on a road bike. Now I know why. Boom, boom, pow. Steve don't got no style.... Not only did he crash, AND flat, but he also shredded his rear tubular. The good news is that we had plenty of time to catch up with Steve on the long walk home.