What about the voice of Geddy Lee? How did it get it so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?

I have been riding on the BVD express for the last week. Last Saturday I headed up to the Rister ranch for an 80 mile ride in Calhoun county that would almost certainly jerk numerous tears out of a weaker individual. The ride consisted of the perfect triumvirate of Bobby, me, and D4L. Tim and I continuously attacked each other while BVD would fly past us when we sat up. In a way it was my hardest ride of the year, since I haven't really been riding with other people. I also haven't been riding up hills that top out at a 26 percent grade and average in the 20's. I'm not even sure how they paved this particular road. My lowest gear is 39x23 and I was weaving from one side of the road (wall) to another. By the top (which was only around 21 percent according to Tim) my arms were quivering and I was fighting as hard as possible not to collapse on the road, break down into tears, and cry for my mommy.

No worries. We finished the ride. Bob complained the most, Tim was the strongest, and I was the most opportunistic...just because I'm not used to drafting people (this year). It was nice to grab a wheel, then attack...only to get attacked by the person on my wheel. It was nice to engage in healthy competition with a few friends. It was also nice to sit around, drink Milwaukee's Best Light, and reminisce about better (2006!) times.

This Saturday, Bob and I participated in a sequel to the Calhoun ride with McGibbs playing the roll of D4L. This time we started from Edwardsville and rode to Carlyle Lake. It was a perfect day, the sun was shining, and the wind was blowing. Things started out innocently enough with everyone spinning along in the small chain ring. But it wasn't long before Gibbs demonstrated his dominance. The guy rides way too much for my taste, so I decided not to attack him. I took a few strong pulls during the ride, but that was pretty much it. Gibbs laid it down and pretty much pulled Bobby and I the last fifty miles of a 105 mile ride. I'm not going to lie to you, I was glad to let somebody else do the work for once on a ride. Riding solo get's old after a very short period of time. Thank you McGibbs.

Back at Bob's house, we discussed the pros and cons of a funkiller like Gibbs. Pro: Gibbs is so strong we had no chance of dropping him. Con: Gibbs is so strong we had no chance of dropping him. If you can't beat him, join him.