the weekend

Last weekend was a blast and right from the start I thought I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. That weekend is always a tough one for me because of my work schedule. I work 3 days, off one and then back to 3 nights ending on Friday morning. We always seem to have big plans for that weekend because I just worked the last two and sleeping Friday day can be tough to do with so much excitement planned. This weekend was no different.

Saturday Melinda and I got the dogs out on the trail for some exercise and by the time we got home I was really dragging. I decided to take a power nap and ended up sleeping for close to an hour but felt much better. That evening we headed up to Andy & Abby's house for their annual Takki Tikki Party. Takki Tikki is a themed party that has been going on in Abby's family for a few years but the theme changes every year. This year was Wrestle Mania, come dressed up as you favorite wrestler, past, present or future. Melinda nor I have ever really been wrestling fans so we struggled with our costumes a bit but it was all in good fun.

Anthony and Amanda took 1st prize for their costumes which were good and a bit too revealing for me. I have to hand it to Anthony, I don't think I could have worn that outfit in public so when he changed after winning I tried not to give him too hard of a time.

Sunday about 16 of us guys got together and headed up to Bent Creek in Asheville for an all day ride in the woods for Anthony's bachelor party. A day spent in the woods tearing up singletrack is much better than going to some sleazy strip club. I have never been a fan of it and hopefully I never will.

I think that was one of the largest group rides I've been on in a while. Sometimes I have a hard time organizing rides with groups half that size but this one went really smoothly and I was surprised at the large turn out. The trails were in excellent shape and the weather was perfect. The original plan was for everyone to meet up @ 10am, the late start was because of the previous night festivities. About half of the group who layed low the night before decided to get a head start on us and arrive early to make sure they got enough miles in. I think they were worried that the partiers were going to be a bit too hung over to cover much ground but they were quickly proven wrong as the group came together at the base of the mountain. Brad and Joshua even pulled off a show on their way back from the Fool's Gold race the day before. I was impressed that they had the energy to ride after racing for 50 miles on Saturday. We did get rained on for about 15 minutes and we did hear thunder but thankfully no one got scared off and we pushed on. Thanks to everyone who came out and if you missed it I really feel for you, it was an excellent ride. I didn't snap alot of pictures but I did get some video but it will probably be next week before I get the footage together. Stay tuned