Heroes.................
Another sleepless night. I need to be moving snow around 03:30 as this is where my day starts this time of year. What a better time to put it in the can - so to speak.
About the ride
Well..........there hasn't been a ride for a couple weeks due to weather. I've also not had the chance to hit the "shore-line trail" either, but I don't expect to have much time there before that is under snow as well. So I'll tell you about the ride some 33 years ago. Actually, a series of rides that started when a friend of mine and I bought our first mountain bikes. In the day, revolutionary. By today's standards........... it makes me laugh. We used to ride from the top of Ogden Canyon, up Wheeler Canyon, to Snow Basin - my old stomping grounds. Occasionally we'd ride up the service roads to the top of a couple of the lifts - because we could. It was way different back then. We never saw any other mountain bikes, in fact, people on horseback would look at us if we were from another planet. Snow Basin was completely deserted during the summer months. Still, it was a break from what had become a rather crappy situation in most other respects. Somehow I knew things would never be the same, but I never realized how cold it would get. The next few years I rode the heck out of that bike, simply to get away from whatever was behind me. During the winter months, I'd ride around Willard Bay as fast as I could, while later I'd take my dog and ride the always empty and local North Fork Park. Man, has that changed as well. I always had a little hope and that was all that mattered.
If you go back a read my final from 2017, you'll tie hope to heroes. If not, just trust me on this one.....
This year..............
"Hadley My Hero" - is where we left off last year. It was my inspiration for what I needed to do this year. That was before the busted ankle and the humiliation that became last summer. Thanks, Reggie and fam; It made literally all the difference on race day. You are my heroes.
To those that contributed - in any way. Thank you so much. Your overwhelming support literally took me to my knees. I know you were supporting the cause - the "purpose" and not the "porpoise", but my gratitude for your support is well beyond measure. What a humbling experience to know of such tremendous people. It does give me hope. Thank you for showing up when you did. Obrigado!
I've learned a lot -still, but have even more that I need to resolve. That's for another day. I'm already looking toward next year with optimism, as I have already scheduled a couple races and am considering something a bit unconventional for HHH. All I can say is, swing back around in a month or so. I'm not going to put it off like I did this past year.
One last thing to answer a question
I've been asked about the "Juniors Farm" thing. It's nothing too deep, but it is like this: That was a very happy time in my life. It formed me. The Scotsman that wrote the number (Jimmy), died not too long after that. Linda died about twenty years ago - of cancer. Both of them are something to me for reasons nobody else will ever understand. The short of it is, it reminds me of when times were good - before the realities of life. I long for the chance to reconcile.
Please come back in a month or so. We have a lot to fight for............
The Porpoise 2018
