Top-7 Adventure Moments of 2011

This accidentally published before it was supposed to.  I decided I would prefer it to be published closer to the year-end; therefore, I'm going to force it re-publish on Christmas Day Ha! -- once again blogger changes its protocol and doesn't do what it would have done a few weeks earlier.  Not much of  a present for any one but me, however, ... 

This is a cycling blog; the following are some highlight moments my cycling year.  The number applied to each moment might be meaningless, but some are meaningful, and there are other moments that could easily replace "Number 7".   Some may actually represent a larger "moment" or activity; some identified moments ostensibly represent only that moment; however, all but one of the "moments" actually seems to be a highlighted moment of camaraderie and friendship.  And after all, of the ingredients that are usually referenced as making for a great bicycle ride (weather, route, friends), only the third really matters, I think.  Hmmn, that previous sentence seems more akin to philosophy than cycling.


Number 7:  Dec-03.  Fifty head of bison on the Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville Permanent.  Twice.

Number 6:  Nov-25.  Badgett Sister's Parkway.  The moments on the actual Parkway were the highlight, but the entire ride was a pleasant sinecure.

Number 5:  Jul-04.  The feelings of triple-double success, etc. at the moment of cresting "Stovall Mountain" on the Kerr Lake Loop Permanent.

Number 4:  Jun-18.  Ten miles before completing the Youngsville-to-Youngsville 100-miler portion of the Solstice Whirligig Tour, IvaHawk "threatening" to bring his ex-Marine skills out of retirement and hurt us if we didn't slow down.

Number 3:  Jun-15.  Turning the discovery that my long-serving pale-blue "Bike Rack" water bottle had developed a hole in its side into a moment of mirth by squirting water out of the side of bottle onto Dean and Janis.  "That felt good; do it again!"

Number 2:  Aug-20.  Paused just yards after the crest of "Stovall Mountain", looking around BikerBob and seeing Fearless Leader RBA Alan flat-on-his back, as if in mid-rando-ditch-nap, clearly intent on a SERIOUS rest.

Number-1:  3:30 am, May-15.  Robert waking me from a fantastic sleep on the floor of the Currie, NC post office lobby; seeing the quintessential I-can't-wait-for-the-next-adventure look on Robert's face.