Caution: Vegans and Vegetarians!

I'll do a couple of carriage returns before the carnage but consider this a warning. There's a large animal being set-upon by carnivores later in the post. There's no blood or anything gratuitous so if you're a blood thirsty meat-eater it won't make you excited. There, my conscious is clear.

After a day of internet silliness and living room painting I started to get ready for the WNBR at about 3. Also at about 3 a storm front moved in from the west with tornado warnings and high winds. That left me with a choice: finish painting or go ride in the rain. I hadn't done a morning ride and my legs were a bit stiff from Tuesday, plus I actually like riding in the rain. So off I went for a ride. When I pulled into the parking lot for this version of the WNBR I was alone up until 15 minutes before the usual start time of 5:15. A few cars pulled in but nobody exited their cars. I was sitting in the shelter with the Spare when Michigan Bernie came over to ask if I was riding. I've dubbed him Michigan Bernie because he introduced himself this way "Hi, I'm Bernie from Ann Arbor. Are you planning to ride tonight?" Yup. 3 other locals weren't made of sugar either so we had a group of 5 ready to go at 5:20. Apparently the WNBR group is a bit lemming-like. When we finished our ride the groups started rolling in. First 3, then 10, then 4 and 5's. In the end roughly 40 riders threw legs over the saddle. The other ~150 riders decided to skip the ride and proceed directly to the Pig Roast at the vineyard.


Once we were rolling along I noticed the rider next to me on the 1994 Trek 2300 was sporting a fully functional Avocet 40. He said he'd keep using it until they stopped making batteries for it or until he broke it.

The 21 miles the cue sheet dictated were fast and flat. The 5 of us decided to alter our route and go a bit further south and try to make a 35 to 40 mile route.
About half-way in Michigan Bernie started to have physical issues. He was in town for business (Drug Sales) and hadn't been riding as much as he'd like to be but he gave it a shot anyway. After a brief discussion the other 3 proceeded on with the longer route and I stayed with Bernie. Knowing the roads I was able to short-cut about 8 miles and come out ahead of the other 3 who were able to catch us on the return leg. I still ended up with 32 miles for the night at a decent pace and spent most of the time towing Bernie. He rewarded me with a Founder's Curmudgeon he'd smuggled across the borders. Wow, was that a good beer.

Bernie thought 70 degrees warranted knickers, arm warmers and a vest.

Okey-dokey then....Here's the point in the post where PETA members should get picket signs and red paint ready.

DON'T LOOK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE A BIG, DEAD ANIMAL BEING EATEN.

Everyone had congregated at the Mitchell Vineyard for the pot-luck and pig roast. Should any pigs be reading, if your farmer comes to your pen with an armload of rebar, C-channel and hose clamps, you should get your affairs in order. It was roasted "cuban-style" for 11 hours. The marinade was orange based and the results were mmmmmmmm-good.

The carving begins...

Mmmmm it was moist too.
By 9pm the pig had been consumed and the beer was running out. The rain may have diminished the ride turn out but the gathering was well attended.

All in all a good day.

Unless you're the pig.