The Grimpeurs met at the bottom of Mud Pike this Thursday for the Double points extravaganza. Mountain Man Sam had heard that some of the Grimpeurs had been on the race circuit and were feeling pretty good about themselves. He had seen too many pictures of a smiling Fat Cat wearing a polka-dot jersey that was rightfully his. It was time to see who was really the king of this mountain. He joined Birdman, Mama, Fat Cat and Diesel for a hot and sweaty battle for the top.
Mountain Man rode with the group while Fat Cat, unbelievably, let a big gap form while he fiddled with gadgets. Would he race this edition just as he had the last? Sure enough, a half minute later he flew by, even saying, "Let's go," as he passed. Mountain Man worked up a hum as the momentum on his big old mountain bike wheels reached critical speed. He saw the polka-dots ahead, going up the steep lower slopes, sitting- standing- generally blowing all the hatches. How predictable. Steadily spinning his knobby tires, Mountain Man patiently closed on Fat Cat. It took a bit longer but he caught The Cat about midway up the hill. He was not looking good. His oppnent uttered something about "not having it today". Mountain Man quickly put Fat Cat behind him by about 25 yards. After that he let up abit, this time knowing the course to come. Fat Cat tried to up his pace and did start to close ever so slightly. At the right moment, Mountain Man kicked his plan into action and kicked it into another gear. He rode away from his antagonist and took away all hope of some sort of heroic throwdown. He crossed the line near a minute ahead of Fat Cat. Birdman came in soon after, having put in an excellent effort for third. Diesel came in fourth and Mama was fifth.
Mountain man reclaimed his laurels and led the group right across Skyline towards Bruceton Mills. In Bruceton everyone enjoyed fresh scones. Everyone, that is, except Fat Cat who just sat there looking sullen. The Grimpeurs continued out of Bruceton on 73 and crossed over towards Lake of the Woods. Along the way Diesel and Mountain got off the front and out of sight. Mama talked with Birdman about the cons-and pros- of Physical Therapy, Chiropractic and other such things. Fat Cat just lagged behind the whole chatagua on his own.
Suddenly, with about 8 miles to go, Fat Cat unhitched from the back of the train and started hitting the grades and descents like he was in a race again. Birdman took up the challenge and passed for a bit. Fat Cat took a page from Mountain man and kept rolling until he got away again. Fat Cat ran past Diesel and Birdman chased. Fat Cat ran by Mountain and Birdman chased. Everybody chased everbody else and the tranquility of the day was blown to bits. Fat Cat got over Wymps alone but stumbled a bit in the switchback descent. Birdman chased for all he was worth and finally caught up in the last quarter mile. Nice riding Birdman. Fat Cat tossed his bike in his car and headed for work, passing mountain man on his way out.
Congratulations on a well earned win, Mountain Man, and 10 points! You showed that it is not about the bike, it's the engine and not the chassis, you can't buy speed, and otherwise confirmed all those old but true cliches.
Standings:
Fat Cat: 61
Diesel: 40
Birdman: 34
Legs: 34
Mama: 24
Mountain Man: 20
Vanilla Ice: 20
Sandbag: 19
Trip: 6
Pink Jersey: 6
G-man: 4
Razor: 2
Highlander: 1
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