How to fill four days with five hours of memories

Thursday.  5:00PM.  Head home, feed/potty the dogs, beer, veggies, eggs, back out the door by 6:20PM.  The Spoke Easy.  Supposed to be a "meeting" about their big move slightly across town (and closer to me).  Turns into a rolling party.  Beers, ride, beers under the bridge, Diamond Restaurant at 10:30PM for bad dietary decisions, and home.

Up and back at it.  Work, ride home, The Wonderboy pulls into my driveway at the same time I do.  I guess his plan is to join my plan.  Dogs, beer, veggies, eggs and back out towards the Southend of town for the premier of Big Worm's Double Down short film.  Stop to buy beer, watch the movie, more beer and then over to New Belgium's Clips of Faith in the park.

Everybody seems to have free beer tokens.  The urgency to get full cups before the taps close is felt.  Even when they do actually close, it seems like everyone I know knows someone else that knows where more beer can be had.

This happens:

Some time later, The Wonderboy and I leave.  We get separated, I get home, leave the door unlocked, he comes some time even later.

Wake up Saturday to The Oldest Dog in the World licking my elbow.  Find empty Pop Tart wrappers and other signs that The Wonderboy had been there, but he's gone.  Get ready for a ride in Uwharrie with Stephanie an Gordon.  Watts Dixon texts and says he's going to Wilkesboro.  I tell him it's closed and that he should ride with us.  I'll regret that later.

Fight a good headache on the way there.  Tell Stephanie and Gordon that I'm pretty sure I had my picture taken with one of the Trailer Park Boys the night before (only to find out he's Ben Best from Eastbound and Down).  Meet Watts.

He's not hungover and destroying me with his pace.  My stomach is empty on purpose, trying to make up for the bad decision at 10:30PM on Thursday.  He goes fast, takes many pictures, keeps them all to himself.  Mexican food (another bad decision) on the way home.

Faced with the decision to drive and not drink or ride my bike seven miles, hang out and drink more beer as the temperature drops, and then ride seven more miles home, I decide to stay in for the night and not go to Zac's Oktoberfest.  I want to feel like something other than a piece of shit in the mountains on Sunday.

The Wonderboy, Joey, Zac and I meet up with Eric "PMBAR Honcho" Wever at The Hhub/Pisgah Tavern.  I needed to pick up the lights I bought from Sam the other day.

I know, I don't really night ride, but I when I do... so sick of not having the light necessary to keep up with the Joneses on the trail.

Short'esque ride plan made harder by Eric's desire to make it "interesting."

Joey, Zac and The Wonderboy hike-a-bike through a yellow jacket nest.  Sucks for them, but with given warning, I hike up the ridge through some nasty underbrush and back down to avoid their stings.

photo cred: Eric "PMBAR Honcho" Wever

Eric just uses his bee whisperer techniques to get to the other side safely in order to document my glissade down the mountain.

More riding.

All the way up Avery and then up and down and up and down and up and down and up Black.

photo cred: Eric "PMBAR Honcho" Wever

To the almost top of Black, where scenery is classically enjoyed.

For some, enjoyed "to the bone."

From the scenic false top to the real tippy-top of the big, nasty descent down Black Mountain.  We all do what it takes to prepare.

Zac takes in the blessing rays from his heavenly father.

Joey practices singletrackstands.

The Wonderboy pisses out of his pants to avoid pissing in them going down Black Mountain.

It's been a year or two since he's ridden his bike in the mountains (or in Charlotte).  Hasn't been down Black since the 2007 PMBAR.  To say that it's changed is an understatement.  The New Black (as it is) is one of the reasons I don't bother with rigid anymore in Pisgah (except two weeks ago, whatever).  My favorite kinda descent.  No exposure.  Just roots, ledges, rocks, holes, drops, walls, turns... speed.

If you have the travel... which the rear of my bike doesn't.  A topic to be discussed (again) later.

The Wonderboy gets down fine, aside from having an off-the-bike moment trying to follow me as I was trying to follow Eric into a giant sidewall ride into a even gianter hole.

High fives exchanged, Tim "Charlotte Singlespeed Champion" Kingery gives us deviled eggs in the parking lot, to The Pisgah Tavern for beers, all to get into the car, drive home and pull into my driveway at 7:57PM for a Faster Mustache meeting that was being held at my house at 8:00PM.

And then Monday happened, just like it always does.