I need to tell you about Saturday's USA Professional Cycling Challenge race that came past our house, but it's a long story, and I've told it a couple of times in emails, so am weary of it. I'll just paste some of it in here.

Here's how I described it to Mr. Troutbend:

"It was hard to tell when the bikes were going to go by – I think they were running behind schedule, and didn’t pass here until about 2:15. The rental guests (4 guys and a girl, each about 30 years old) and I had chairs up on the road waiting from about 12:45. They backed their Blazer up there so they could carry chairs and coolers, and it was like a tailgate party. The girl is the granddaughter of the people with the fifth wheel trailer who were here in July.



At one point, that shirtless one on the right was telling another one about the movie Patch Adams, and how it made him cry. Patch Adams of all things.

One of them was telling me what a rock climber he is, about how he was in the Marines, and now he’s a skate board developer. He decided to climb that cliff across the road from our gate. I told the one sitting next to me “I really wish he wouldn’t do that.” and this guy was reassuring me that the climber knew what he was doing. You could see the rocks crumbling under his hands, and I said something about that, and the guy next to me said the climber would make sure he found a good grip. I sort of looked away, then looked back, and the climber was falling about 25 feet to the ground, landing flat on his back and bouncing up a little bit. Two of the guys claimed they had been on their way over there to tell him to come down, just as he fell, so were quickly there to help him.

His nose was bleeding, and next thing I knew, they had stuck a stick in his mouth and re-set his broken nose. They said it was completely flat on his face, with the bridge of his nose under his eye and some of the lower half going a different direction. He also skinned one knee badly, and bit through his lip. They didn’t think he hit his head (he was lucky he didn’t land on some rocks, or out in the traffic lane because there were still cars passing by occasionally at that time). His buddies were watching him for concussion. They gave him some ice to put on his face, and he sat there with a bloody tee shirt wrapped around it holding it to his mouth. While they drunkenly went over and over the event.

Later, I figured out the only reason they brought him along was because he is a disabled vet, he can get medical marijuana for them.

Oh, and they brought two dogs – a pit bull and something else. Since they knew a previous guest had brought dogs up here, they figured it was fine, and swore they would clean up after them. Just picture us all up on the highway for a couple of hours – drunks, a skinny little guy bleeding, lots of cigarette smoking, and everyone drinking mixed vodka drinks in tall tumblers.

One of them decided the pit bull was overheated, so took him down the sheer slope to the river.




It took forever for the race to come, but there was a helicopter, a bunch of parade marshalls, several event staff cars and course manager cars, and tons of State Patrol motorcycles, sedans, and SUVs. It would be a good day to break traffic laws on the Interstate – no enforcement. They all blew their sirens at us and waved.





The motorcycle cops took both hands off the handlebars and did that raise the roof motion. It was cute. Of course my young friends were all there on the shoulder of the road raising their fists in the signal to get them to blow their horns, and if they didn’t, ‘we’ yelled at them that they must be from Europe.



(Behind the bikes is the cliff that the guy tried to climb.)

The first racers went by in a small pack of twelve, each having its own chase car with sponsor stickers and bikes on top. The bikes were in the left lane (going down) and their cars were in the right lane.



Then, there was a big pack of racers with more chase cars. It was hard to get a good picture of them. Because it was downhill right there, they were going fast with their heads down, and it was impossible to see any of them as an individual.



Then, a few minutes later there came a bunch of ambulances and assorted decorated vans, and some little pack of riders with numbers, but they didn’t look like they were seriously racing. Then, we packed up and came home. Two of them stood on the back bumper of the Chevy, holding onto the roof rack for the short ride down the driveway.

Of course they all liked it here - plenty of privacy for drinking and doping, but I don't think I'll let them come back because there was too much risky behavior. Their original plan was to bring ten people, but only five came, and that was more than enough."