CYSIN: Holy COW's Holy Saturday (4/23)



It's probably not normal for Shrek to show up for a "photo opportunity" at an Akron Bike Club group ride...but that is exactly what happened!  I would like to say that I had nothing to do with this surprise appearance, but that is exactly not the "truth".

The "truth" is that Jim Bowker's hi-tech phone camera made me do it.  But, I don't know how I did it.  It's a mystery to me.

You can read the entire account of the ABC's "Unofficial Think Spring" group ride...it was a fantastic day to be on bike!  It's a long post, so I will say, "Holy COW...that's a long post!" for you.  Here is the post link: Getting a Peak of Sunshine.

After "commuting" back home from this group ride, I took a two hour nap and got gussied up for a special evening celebration...
   
...

It's nice to have friends in "high places"!  And, it was special to have a front row seat to experience this sensational seasonal presentation:

Yes sirree.  Mr. Bach did an excellent job with this score.  Why look, they called this his "supreme masterpiece".  I just have one small thing to say.

[COW: clearing his throat] "Ah sir, I mean Misto Bach sir.  I mean no disrespect, and please know that your music was soothing to my soul, but isn't this story about HIS MASTERPIECE?  Just saying."

Beside acknowledging HIM, this post is aimed at celebrating some of my "peeps".  At the core of my "peeps", is one special family.  The family of BFF Mike B!

Mother-In-Law Barbara, Daughter Rachel, MIKE B!, Wife Kelley,
Kent State International Student hosted by the "Bs", Father-In-Law Leo,
and Son Aaron looking "swank".

All of us were excited to experience Mike B's first performance with Summit Choral Society's Masterworks Chorale.  Even more exciting was that he joined a veteran of this highly talented group of singers!  And not just any singer, the proprietor of our "Favorite Local Bike Shop" (LBS), none other than Bob Peyak.

COW is all smiles to be in "post performance pic" and even
more excited to snap one of Bob and Mike...my "peeps"!

In January, while hanging out at the shop, Wheel & Wrench in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, Bob asked if I had any friends who might be interested in taking a few "basic bike maintenance workshop sessions".  I told him, I am pretty sure my buddy Mike B would want to attend.

We rolled up our sleeves, fixed flats, tweaked our derailleurs,broke chains, spread some grease, and made wheels true.  Bob's a knowledgeable instructor. We had a blast!

How ironic, four months later, it was for Bob and Mike to share the same stage after a "boat load" of rehearsals and individual preparations for this masterpiece.  They did not know each other well then, prior to the bike repair workshop sessions, but now there is a friendship between them that will last for many years!


Ted is smaller than Mike,
but he has a big voice!

To be clear here, the biking connection was not "magical" on its own for Mike and Bob to hook up with Summit Choral Society.  Mike joined SCC via an independent connection of his own - the group's new Bass Section leader, Mr. Ted Sure.

I met Mike B through church in 2006.

He then took me on a "pilgrimage" to Lafayette (west Medina) and exposed me to "Gospel Bluegrass".

I grew a beard and the rest is HIS-story.

I remember telling Mike that driving to Lafayette, every Friday to attend the "grandfather of all bluegrass jams", was too far to go...by car.  Now, when I ride my bike through "that neck of the woods", I smile.

Distance is a relative thing...when one is having fun pedaling.

We were having dinner at the Applebees in Twinsburg, after a Christmas concert in December 2006, when Mike bluntly told me of his assessment that I suffer from ADD (he just does not understand craziness).  When I decided not to leave him there, to walk home on his own,  Mike B then asked me if, "I wanted to be his friend?" (was that before adults could use Facebook?).   And, am I ever glad that I agreed. 

He keeps me out of "pickle juice"!  And, we are excited to be "biking newbies" with hopes of putting down more miles together this coming cycling season.

Although it began with music, I perceive the joy of our ongoing relationship, as friends, will be the results of ...making "positive" connections on the cycling trail!

"Cager", "Jimmer", "Captain Bob" 

COW stopped by the shop to share the news that the
rain suit I purchased last fall "kept me dry"at ABC's
extremely wet "Think Spring Invitational".
The ROMEO shirt sparked a few lively discussions at this ABC event.

I am also absolutely positive that my connection to my local bike shop buddies, my "peeps" pictured above, had a dramatic impact on my development as a "first year cyclist" in 2010.  On a musical note...the "Jimmer Jams with Jazz!"  

There will be much more to share about Jimmer and Captain Bob...both of whom are members of my "Yellow Jersey" Wall of Fame!

If you know Bob, Mike, Ted, Jim...or even the COW, please feel free to leave a comment in the below box...to say how snazzy they all look dressed up in "Black & Whites".

The code CYSIN in the above title is actually a "puzzle phrase".  It might be hard to solve what CYSIN stands for...but here is the first of eight "clue boxes"...that are being inserted to these final posts for April.

You can use the comment section

to "speculate a translation"

for

C.Y.S.I.N.?

The first of eight slices! Not much here...keep looking!