You are so DQ -- Black Creek Grocery is open!

Haha! That e-mail message was waiting for me as I wrapped up a fabulous day on the bikes doing the Black Creek 200K permanent. Smart phones have opened up a new loading dock of possibilities for smack talk among your riding buddies, even when 25 miles of pavement separate you.

A full explanation is in order, but first, let me say it was a spectacular day for riding in North Carolina. Today is the first day of spring and it sure looked like it. The world went boom and bloomed, trees, bushes, flowers, even the fallow fields along the course sported a shag carpet of purple flowers. People everywhere were out in their yards trying to start lawn equipment they'd parked in the shed last fall, and everybody's dogs were out and about and ready for the chase.

Along for the ride today were Bob, Mike O, Fearless Leader Al, Dean, Lynn and myself. We'd hoped to have one guest rider from out of town but she developed a cough and sent her regrets. A special congrats to Mike O who wrapped up his R-12 upon completing today's course. Here he is:



Also, we're running a picture of Al since we neglected to put one up last Sunday on his birthday ride:



My Coho has a bad bearing in the bottom bracket and I'm waiting for the replacement part so I rode my other bike today, an immaculate cream-colored McLean made in 1979.



It's so clean that I only ride it on days when the chance of rain is zero and the pollen count is low. The original owner put very few miles on it and it came to me with everything, including tires and tubes, that it had when it rolled out of Dale Brown's shop three decades ago. The tires, tan-wall Michelins, look suspect. Dry rot. I guess they're good for a few more rides but I'm waiting for a side wall to crack open and explode, so every pedal stroke is an adventure.

Okay, back to the story. The town of Black Creek in Wilson County is the turnaround point and the only store in town, Black Creek Grocery, serves as the control. Lynn and I were out in front most of the day and reached the Grocery at 11:11. The "Open" sign was black. We tried the police station and the town hall. All locked up.

We saw the the rest of our group still motoring east and I stopped them to let them know the Grocery was closed. I told them to use the business next door (Brill's Upholstery) as an information control. And away we went.

When Lynn and I got back to the ride start, I checked my e-mails and found that fun note from Sridhar with that great photo. I love those guys.

Another great day on the bikes.