PMBAR '16: Aftermath

Almost the entire crew I associate with (myself included) became a total shit show after the finish.  Zac jumped (I mean, crawled) into someone's vehicle, went out to eat, slept in a bed, left 90% of his possessions and his keys in my car, and entered Sunday with that to deal with.

photo cred: Eric "PMBAR Honcho" Wever

I took Bill Nye back to Charlotte.  His keys were in April's car, so I spent my morning with Bill Nye since he couldn't get into his apartment.  We washed bikes, played with my squeezy leg bags, watched a Pierce Brosnan era James Bond movie, dropped my Vertigo off at Bike Source to get my brake fixed (the first time I've handed my bike over to a shop since 1997), I pulled Zac's cockpit off the Stickle, and then we went out to eat.  After getting Bill Nye's keys, I took him home and went back to Bike Source to pick up my bike (now with two functional brakes) and the rotors I ordered last week.  I went out to the Honda Fit of Rage, pulled down the rack, saw that Bill Nye had left the key to my u-lock in the tray AND IT NEVER FELL OUT LIKE MY 15MM SKEWER DID ON FRIDAY.  I was so amazed that I put the rotors down on the ground to analyze how that was possible, loaded my bike and drove off... without my rotors.

Something that I wouldn't realize until I got this text fifteen minutes later:

So yeah.

Also finding the money Zac gave me for camping and gas in the washing machine.

Also also finding the key to my work u-lock in the car's cup holder while reaching for my Blistex Sunday night.  I woulda been looking for that Monday morning.

April's chair and part of Stephanie's JetBoil ended up in the hands of Josh the Wonderboy (here only for the free beer and camping).

I did find my 15mm skewer on the way to work Monday.

I knew even if I found it, it would probably be ruined, and I'd have to buy a new one.  I just needed the peace of mind of knowing it was out there somewhere.  At least I didn't litter.  It almost made it all the way, falling off my rack less than a half mile and two turns from The Spoke Easy.  So close...

Who knows what else?

Thanks to Brado, who helped me find my bike Saturday night that somehow ended up behind the podium.

I'm glad I decided to stop working on my bikes and not endanger myself any further with my fuzzy brain.  To say that PMBAR affected many of us at the mental level is an understatement.

On a positive note, the yet to be named strap from Backcountry Research was just what I needed.

Took my arm warmers off on Squirrel, tucked them away.  Pulled off my hat on Bradley, tucked it away.  Took off my knee warmers on Laurel... you get it.

None of this stuff was in my jersey pockets interfering with me getting my timing chip, tools, gels... and the rubber band that I used to fix my brake lever.  It was so secure that when I looked back in my rear view mirror on the way home Sunday, I saw that my stuff was secure in a 70MPH side wind.  Huzzah!

Now I wait for the PMBAR hangover to go away and all the second guessing on routes and what to do differently in 2016 to stop coming to the front of my brain every seven seconds.

Thomas "Hat Man" Turner says he has a nice sequence of images from the single speed podium, but he hasn't found just the right 'N Sync song for the soundtrack to the slideshow.