Rough Storms Ahead

To tell you that there has been an abundance of storms around here in the Charlotte area would be an understatement. In fact, when I talked to Mr. Shepherd last night, he said something about it. “You talk about rain up there more than I do down here” said my longtime pal and still Florida resident. He is correct, and it puzzles me. I mean, it rains a lot down there in the Sunshine State, but the showers are usually over pretty quickly. The trails can be ridden down there in all weather conditions, so it doesn’t usually affect any kind of bike adventure you wish to do. Up here it's a different story.


We’ve had a shit load of rain here the past few days, and it doesn’t look like it will let up anytime soon. Not just rain though; big freakin’ storms. The trails around here have been getting a good soaking, so I’m wondering if tonight’s Summer Series race at Colonel Francis Beatty Park will even happen. The race hasn’t officially been called off or anything, but the way the weather has been around here I wouldn’t be surprised. The forecast looks bleak.


So yeah, I’m pretty bummed about a possible race cancellation. Lunchbox and I were planning on racing tonight, so I hope we can still do it. Sure, the races can be made up at a later date, but I like doing this weekly race thing, mostly for “training” purposes. The XTERRA Whitewater is coming up in about a month, so I need all the help I can get. Plus, tonight might be the unveiling of something new and exciting here at B-43, weather-permitting of course. What am I talking about? Well, here is the hint I gave you before:



In other news, Mr. Shepherd’s shipment finally arrived. The poor little carrier pigeon was tired, and his wings were all wet, but he still delivered an envelope for me. When I opened it up, I found a gift:



That’s right. Mr. Shepherd sent me a nice little beer coozie with the fancy Ironman logo on it. No, not this Ironman either. We’re talking about the big-time triathlon event that he just completed a few weeks ago. The Dirty Party Cycle got one of these coozies too, and he joked that Mr. Shepherd was rubbing it in. While I laughed at that too, I think that it was an incredible feat. I would be proud to have some schwag from such a big event, but I don’t plan on doing any Ironman shit in the future. I’ll leave that to the B-43 South fellers down there. Anyway, I’m happy to have the Ironman logo adorning my refreshing beverages while I work in the shop. For now though, I’ll concentrate on off-road triathlons. I don’t think I have what it takes to be an Ironman…yet.