Great minds think of PINK!

PINK!

In a totally unplanned surprise, everyone who came to The Great Northern Ride today wore their Pink Pancreas team jerseys (well, all except one, but, y'know, hey. It was unplanned.). So, as we headed north into the wilds of Oceana County, we were tight, together, and unified - it was a truly inspiring sight, from any direction. It was obvious that we were out with a purpose; that netted us a few waves, comments, and one stopped minivan.

We're gonna be the talk of Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, that's for sure. I hope the Ashvillians get a chance to wear theirs en masse at some point.

In any case, the weather smiled on us, with comfortable temperatures and light winds. Most of us did 46 pretty hilly miles, with a few doing 24 so they could get back and get the party prep going. Zero hardcore points were awarded, as we had no flat tires, no crashes, and Coach Mike managed to avoid falling asleep on his fixie.

On our return, we were treated to a most marvelous swimming pool full of goofy kids who had somehow obtained squirt guns, a table full of salsa, and a mountain of baked beans, burgers, hot dogs, and killer good bratwurst (note: I may be tryin' to score points with my wife, who cooked the wursts. Them all being gone at the end of the day was a pretty good indication of their quality, too). And, of course, cookies and ice cream cake. Winner of the salsa competition was Mike Howard, for his most excellent and pretty spicy concoction which he sells as a fundraiser.

The Pink Peloton today was:

Coach Mike
John
Ross
Katie + Steve
Nicole
Tom + Mary
Scott + Linda
Chris R. with special guest Scott R.
Rob
Nathen
Amy
Sara
and li'l ol' me.

Big, BIG thanks to Nicole's Grandparents, for offering their house, their pool, their yard, their grill, and their huge amount of help in making this a really, really cool event (and for explaining umpteen times the convoluted relationship between Katie and Nicole). More thanks to all those who came up - it's a hike, I know, and I hope we made it worth yer while. You better believe we'll do it again next year!

Pictures to follow soon, I expect...

Thanks, folks!

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