Thursday, September 20, 2007

The Aceness of Friends


Above: Sara, SteveM, Ferrentino, and you know who during one of my favorite days.

Holy cow...What a trip. I don't even know where to begin, and even if I did I'm not sure I know what to say.

Singlespeed World's was everything I thought it would be. Aviemore is a spectacular place, and one of the things I loved most about being there was that it wasn't my first time to the little village in the Cairngorms. I already knew that the hot chocolate at Cafe Mambo is stellar, and I already knew that it would be the source of much shenanigans and evening revelrie. I already knew about that little piece of secret singletrack that runs along the paved bike path out to Bothy Bikes, and I already knew that the ride out to the race course was full of head-turning views.

I suspected that having my best friends in the world from the UK, and some very good friends from this side of the pond in the same place at the same time was going to make it hard for me to decided who to talk to and when. Fortunately, everyone mingled together and got along famously-mostly outside of Cafe Mambo. The Unofficial SSCW Headquarters. I hate to use the term 'partying hard' simply because it sounds all a bit too college frat party. It also suggests that things were less than civilized. The reality of it is that there were many nights (consecutively) that involved staying up until the wee hours of the morning, but I think we were all having so much fun just chatting and laughing, and watching Biff on the dance floor, that we didn't want it to end. Big nights out, followed by big days out on bike rides, with big purple hills and open moorland. How much better could it be?

There are just so many things to remember from the trip. I'm afraid I've already forgotten things that I really don't want to forget. Time with people that really do feel more like family than merely friends. Time in a place that I'd give my big toe to live in. Time away from all the shite that is happening in the world. Real ales, single malts, singlespeeds. I'm at a loss for much else.

And of course, there's the Random Canadian, and The Most Beautiful Man in the World, and Sara, my protagonist in crime, and Fez Ferrentino the 'shoulder' for the second time. And...everyone else. Life is mostly really friggin' good.