Chaplog tries hard

Knocking on heaven's door

Steve arrived with friends. It is becoming a weekly occurrence that one of the members of our cycling group has some ailment and it is suggested that we only ride for a couple of hours. What happens bears no relation to what was said before the ride, no notice is taken of these pleas by the weakest member. We go for a ride that fits the weather conditions and the strongest members of the team, definately not the weakest member of the party. I know, I have been there and it hurts. The crux of the matter is, it is painful but when it is happening to others, it is character building, is it not?

We were blessed with the weather. No I should not use the word blessed as it has religious connotations and that is a subject that should not be talked about on a weblog. It is a sensitive matter and you might hurt someone's feelings. Oh all right then if you insist!

More about that later but our start was a little slow. The members of the team that were fully suspended, now don't take that the wrong way we are talking mountain bikes here, made the decision to put a minimum amount of air in their tyres to increase grip in muddy or dusty conditions. Now call me old faishioned, I am, but I would prefer to slip a bit and not have to mend punctures on the first descent. While Steve and I got cold the purnctures were mended and we continued. Sleeping bags were mentioned and the suggestion made that Steve and I should go ahead and catch them up on the second lap.

Now back to that sensitive matter. It was Steve's fault and it was premeditated. He saw the opportunity of an amusing couple of hours and went for it. Quite early in the ride he bowled the googly, threw the hand grenade, what ever you want to call it. The execution of the aforesaid googly went like this. He cruised up to Andy and myself and said something like "what do you think about homosexual bishops? His next step was to use all of his physical reserves to put distance between the two of us. He chose the terrain carefully. I notice such things, it was flat but bumpy requiring concentration which is difficult to do when one is discussing the rights of bishops to have sexual relations with the same sex while keeping in mind the words of certain books which forbid such things. The inevitable happened Steve shot off into the distance while Andy and I debated the question and I kept falling off my bike. I have a similarity with ex president Nixon, I cannot chew gum and walk in a straight line. Technical mountain bike riding and taking part in a discussion about homosexual bishops are two things that I will never be able to do at the same time. Andy did OK though!

The highlights were in my opinion:

1. me comparing the complete works of Frank Zappa to be a guide equal in status as the gospels on how to live one's life - tongue in cheek I hasten to add
2. The delight on the faces of some walkers as they listened to our debate as we struggled up a steep section. We were discussing the meaning of right and wrong and the consequences of it not being defined on how people live their lives.
3. The debate concerning the evolution of law within society and the re-assessment of the meaning of the gospels by different generationsThe wicket taking move by myself, in my opinion, when I quoted Tinbergen's research on his finding homosexual relationships in greylag geese
4. Steve mentioning the Koran and Andy I looking at him, not speaking but I suggest, both of us thinking we have got enough on our plates. Leave the Koran out of this debate.
5. The match winning comment from Andy as he told me about his brother's life and its affect on his thinking. This put my earlier comments into perspective - very shallow.
6. More tea vicar?

As this is a one sided account I suggest alternative views should be suggested through a comment at the end of this post

The debate went on, Steve appeared from time to time with that shitty type of grin that was suggesting that he deserved all the credit for the proceeding hour's amusement.

Injuries. There were a number. A strained thumb was sustained in an early fall by one member of the party and a cut knee and shoulder by another. I would like to say that both members of the team that sustained these injuries were extremely brave and did not not draw attention to themselves.

We were nearly killed on the way back by a wayward/insane motorcyclist? Or perhaps a younger person on a ballistic missile in a hurry. Is this what old people think about the younger generation? If so I am getting old.

It would be nice if all the pictures had captions but the photographer/weblog author is bushed and suggests another member of the team works out titles.

Posted by mikec at October 18, 2003 08:32 PM