Meet Brian. At first glance, you might think Brian is a mild mannered individual. After all, he’s an engineering professor at a local university (and therefore a bit nerdy), he’s tall, lanky, and has a relatively consistent “nothing bothers me” attitude. He’s also starting to grey a bit but that’s not really his fault. Brian is a classic case of judging the book by its cover. While the jacket may seem simple, the story is all about pain and suffering. Of course, he’s the one that inflicts the pain and causes the suffering.
While this may seem like an exaggeration, every time I have joined Brian for some kind of outdoor activity, it turns out to be a full-on sufferfest. Well, at least I end up s
uffering while Brian casually rolls along and pretends to be exerting some effort but that just adds insult to injury. Sunday was a prime example of Brian doing his best to try and rip my legs off via a mountain bike ride. Of course, I foolishly decided to join.
Like most mountain bike rides with Brian it starts out without a real ride plan. We decide to meet somewhere and then settle on a loop. This, puts Brian in the unique position to lure you in and then WHAM, you’re stuck. After all, you’re not going get all geared up and drive to the woods only to say, “No thanks, I’d rather not ride.” That’s just foolish. Instead, you begrudgingly go along and end up doing some ridiculous amount of climbing mixed with gnarly descents that leave you barely able to walk when the ride is done.
Brian typically tells me that rides like the one from this weekend are good for me. I’m still trying to figure out what good comes from being a few pedal strokes away from complete incapacitation. One would think the cushy university gig would make him soft but I think it just gives him time to figure out new and creative ways to bury me and the others foolish enough to join his cavalcade of misery.
While this may seem like an exaggeration, every time I have joined Brian for some kind of outdoor activity, it turns out to be a full-on sufferfest. Well, at least I end up s
uffering while Brian casually rolls along and pretends to be exerting some effort but that just adds insult to injury. Sunday was a prime example of Brian doing his best to try and rip my legs off via a mountain bike ride. Of course, I foolishly decided to join.Like most mountain bike rides with Brian it starts out without a real ride plan. We decide to meet somewhere and then settle on a loop. This, puts Brian in the unique position to lure you in and then WHAM, you’re stuck. After all, you’re not going get all geared up and drive to the woods only to say, “No thanks, I’d rather not ride.” That’s just foolish. Instead, you begrudgingly go along and end up doing some ridiculous amount of climbing mixed with gnarly descents that leave you barely able to walk when the ride is done.
Brian typically tells me that rides like the one from this weekend are good for me. I’m still trying to figure out what good comes from being a few pedal strokes away from complete incapacitation. One would think the cushy university gig would make him soft but I think it just gives him time to figure out new and creative ways to bury me and the others foolish enough to join his cavalcade of misery.
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1 comment:
So true! But judging from the condition of his helmet after the ride, it sounds like he suffered at least a little too!
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