nobody outcleans the maids

it was a groggy morning for me. it came way too early, but i managed to pull myself out of bed around four a.m. and get kitted up and head out the door for a ride. it was humid, but somewhat brisk after last nights thunderstorms. it wasn't real wet outside but there was a lot of debris on the roads.

i met up with peaches at his house and we picked up the pace a bit. my legs felt like bags of sand. they were barely, just barely, doing the job. we made our way around bayfront after bombing down spring street and chatted a bit about the state of the world. i'm glad to live in a time and place that allows me to have a second refrigerator filled with quarts of malt liquor.

we continue chatting as we head through east hill. finally 12th avenue comes with the first real hill of the day. peaches beats me to the top. my legs are starting to feel better.

finally we meet up with some other folks. a gentleman on a blue cannondale tags along and then we meet up with john and chung. the pace picks up.

we ride the road behind the airport twice, then hang a right on summit as john takes the lead. the pace picks up dramatically but everyone is still keeping up. we circle the airport and somewhere peaches falls off the back. he's taking it easy due to a pretty hard spill he took on the thursday morning ride. i stay behind a bit just to keep a tab on him and make sure everything is going fine. he ensures that he's doing fine and urges me to go catch up with the group, so i do.

after i pass chung and mr. blue c-dale we hang a right on scenic and john is my main focus. i want to catch up with him and hold on as long as i can since he is the fastest one in the group today. after a fast descent we pull a right on to langley avenue and the second hard climb of the day. at the top i almost catch john, but he's just far enough ahead to get the green light and i get the red by the time i'm at the intersection.

i make a left on spanish trail and i see chung has cut through the apartment complex parking lot to take the shortcut around the intersection. cheater.

once again behind the airport we all regroup. peaches has sped up a bit and it only takes a minute or less of waiting and he is back with the group. we head back out to scenic at an easy pace and then hang a right. scenic highway is death. the speeds increase dramatically because everyone wants to be off of that road as soon as possible.

i pass the group and hold on to john's wheel as we round out to cervantes. we climb a bit and the group is going right on nineteenth as i make a left on nineteenth to head back to the house and hopefully catch shea before she has to go to work.

i make it home, have half a cup of coffee and then she is off.

now, i'm lucky enough to be here with you.