To say that a big sale is stressful is an understatement; the Spring TREKFest that we’ve put together has required massive amounts of time, putting together the details, putting out the fires, and dealing with faulty uploads to our sale site (catalog.chainreaction.com). For some reason our ultimate killer deal wasn’t posting at the killer-deal price. It took at least 4 hours figuring it out, mostly done by my brother Steve… so I left the shop last night at 9:45pm, tired and hungry.

OK, Tuesday’s ride first. Big group, everyone seemed to show up. I had thought I might be able to climb more-strongly than normal after Sunday’s successful outing, but that proved not to be the case. Darn.

Today? Nice morning, yet nobody at the start but myself and Kevin! Where was everybody? Todd showed up just as we left, then Karl (who, when running late, rides the first part of the route backward to intercept us) and finally Marcus, at the base of Kings. Marcus and Kevin played off the front, while Karl and Todd were having a pleasant conversation at a relaxed pace at the back. Me? I was doing the usual heavy-breathing thing, hearing Karl & Todd yakking away, while I’m trying to stay out in front of them. Then, up on Skyline, it’s all I can do just to stay on their wheels.

What made the ride special was the Coyote seen casually walking in the opposite direction as we ride up west Old LaHonda. I mean totally casual, as if it was a well-tamed pet dog on a mission and had no interest in us whatsoever.

Meantime the sale continues through Monday. There really are some silly deals in this one, what we call an unsustainable business model. If you’re looking for a really nice bike, this is the time. If you need tires, all folding tires are 20% off and you get two free tubes with each. It’s nuts, but another shop was doing something silly, so we decided to go even-sillier. Now, why is it I’m not getting enough sleep this week?