Big Grin Memorial Ride

Joel Dyke died two years ago, and right off the bat we started having these memorial rides in his memory. In the winter, both because Joel loved winter riding and because he pulled a dick move and died on December 27. Well, dying in December wasn't really the offensive part, it was dying so young with so many people attached to and counting on him. He left behind an awesome wife and two (well, Lydia was still in the oven) kiddos.

Last year, the ride was like five degrees. We still had I think upwards of fifty riders. Lots of layers, a few Carharts, but people rode.

This year's ride was supposed to be a couple weeks earlier than it ended up happening. There was an ice storm warning and between Michelle and the Trek Store (his widow and his last employer) it was decided not to goad people into harm's way. The ice didn't end up materializing but it's fair, only a few of us have steel studded snow tires.

So the reschedule was on a relatively balmy day, above freezing by the end. It was also up against Street Cred is Dead, an alleycat which definitely drew more than zero of the Big Grin riders.

But a good time was had by all. Some of the people who showed were doing Street Cred too, they just peeled off early.

It's such a fun group of people. I really love them all, and before I met Corinna and then by default this whole sick crew, I didn't know anyone who would ride bikes when it was this cold. Let alone as cold as it was last year.

And this children, so beautiful, so sweet. Thorvall Stonecrusher III and Lydia, they're going to make a mark. Jofess' name was supposed to be Thorvall Stonecrusher III according to Joel, who cruelly changed his name to a conventional one after getting everyone (me anyway) to believe his kid was really going to have to deal with a Boy Named Sue world.

But anyway, we all had fun, we ate vegetarian chili, beers were consumed in quantity, and I got a few snaps of the guilty, beautiful parties involved.

And I got some good photos of the kiddos. Michelle is super camera-aware, thinks she's not photogenic. She's plenty photogenic, but when someone objects to being photographed and is really aware when a camera is raised, they flinch. And nobody takes a good picture while flinching.

Except I"ve done it. I've taken good pictures of Michelle, and I might not be much of a photographer compared to some people I know, but good pictures of someone who tries not to be photographed, that's a pretty sound trophy.

And of course I got some of my other friends who are really fun to shoot too.

Like Ricky Fitts said in American Beauty, sometimes there's so much beauty in the world...