Tour de Pig XX: Dy-no-mite!

The first full week of October is always exciting. There is a smell of BBQ starting to emanate from Lexington, NC. That smell starts to mingle with the sounds of cycling - a chain going through the cassette, calls of "on your left!" and the low hum of me wondering when I can stop riding and start eating the aforementioned BBQ. What this all means is it's time for The Tour de Pig.

For a bit of a backstory, it's valuable to know that I've been riding the Tour de Pig, off and on, for the last 9 years. I've ridden it alone, ridden 'round the parking lot in the pelting rain, and ridden it in the cold. Most of all, I ride 'The Pig' with KP. It isn't so much a question of if we're going as what time does he drop by to pick me up. Granted, he's gotten better and me lazier, but we still go there, start together and then eat together. It's our gig. The Pig is, without a doubt, my favorite ride. You ride for a while and then eat a plate of BBQ with friends -- what's not to love?

This year is the 20th running of The Pig. There was a special jersey you could order (I did).  KP picked me up in the morning and we were in Davidson County with time to spare. My new jersey was awesome and it looked as though they sold a boatload, as more than 50% of the riders were wearing them. VERY cool.

KP looks like Cadel Evans, with Jim and Ricky ready to ride support.

We ran into my pal Chad, who was riding the 100K because he is a BEAST. I wouldn't commit to how long I'd ride. My usual response is 15K, but I'd even shortened that to 7 and was holding firm. Chad was great to catch up with and he made me promise to leave him some food.

KP and I ran into Jim (from Jostens) and Ricky (from Dell). We all decided to start the 50K ride and start together. It was a lovely day and we were off pretty quickly. I started goofing around and left those boys IN THE DUST when I broke away on a climb (I like to show I still have a little juice left!). Self-satisfied, I pulled over and let them pass and I played catch up with them. Now, being a lazy son-of-a-gun, I did not want to keep going on the 50K route and I pulled in at the first rest stop only to see those boys had left me in the dust! Ha!

You might think I'd be upset about that, but it actually worked toward my plan of enjoying the 35K. I called (Ricky) Patterson, to see if he wanted to ride with those speedy boys or chunk-a-lunk it with me. He quickly turned around, I came back and met him at that rest stop and our adventure started... at about a waltz pace.

Ricky's  calling his detailer to 
see if he can make his bike look 
even more like the beloved Steelman.

We caught up about work and folks we knew, riding and just talked our usual pattern of goofiness and found ourselves at a rest stop before you knew it. As that Patterson is on a short leash, he had to call in to the Mrs. at every stop. I shouted out that he was leaving her for me and he'd relay the message, but never with much result.

We had only only major climb, which was after the bridge and I knew the photo crew would be out there. Sure enough, I absolutely pounded the pedals as I went by them, probably climbing at 17mph. I am sure the photo will look epic. As Patterson points out, I immediately slowed down to 4mph once I was past them. True! Ha!

With all the hard work done, we cruised back to the DCCC campus and got ready to tuck into some of that delicious BBQ.

Diggin' the patches. I have the last 9.

The folks that run the event also serve the food and they're as nice as folks come. They'd put up a cool image of the different patches from the event. Either KP, I or both of us have ridden in 9 of these events now, so we've got quite the collection running.

Of course, as though to punish me, Patterson won a door prize. Somehow, though he's only ridden twice in this event, he is two-for-two on door prizes and, I've got to admit, I'm getting a bit ticked...

It didn't take long for KP and Jim to show up and we ran into our pal Ricky B. (also from Dell) and his pal, Scott. There were a good group of us running our mouths when we weren't stuffing them with BBQ. Soon enough, another ex-Dell boy, Greg, showed up and then came in Chad, sportin' a 100K hunger.

KP and Jim wondering why
I'm interrupting their meal.

So, stories were told. Exaggerations were made (not by me, I'm sure) and smiles were all around. We even broke down and had a photo together. I'm one for the photos, I'm told.

All in all, another great year at The Pig.

Regaling the masses with tales of cycling bravado.

Beauty and the Beast.
I'm telling you, Chad is a BEAST on the bike!

I love seeing my friends and hanging out after a ride like this. There was nothing but fun involved and we all just smile and smile. Lots of back slaps and well wishes and plans for next year. As it should be.

In the end, The Pig is KP and my ride. We've been doing this thing for years. Always good to see him and ride what little bit I can keep up. I already can't wait until next year!