Hey, try this...

Another guest post from a non-blogger... Subject? Well, Mad Munkey of course. :-)

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Whoo Hoo The Mad Munkey, MM, Mad Munk, Fumbalaya, Fulbleruski... wait. I got sidetracked, sorry.. So, MM has asked me to also guest post on who he is to me. How in the world can I sum that up? Well, I can't, so I'll talk about how we got to know each other. I first met him riding bicycles to help raise money for local AIDS Charities. A group of us would meet on Tuesday nights after work and ride some hills. Up one side, down the other. Then, for your reward you got to do it 5 times in a row to complete a single lap. And if you felt up to it, you could do as many (or as few) laps as you wanted. ahhhhh But the true reward was eating the best subs on the planet afterward. That's where I truly got to know MM.

A group of about 8 of us got to be regulars at this sub place. We'd go ride 10-20 miles of hills, then sit outside the deli and eat and talk and watch the world go by. We'd talk about things related to the Ride we were training for, we'd talk about work, we'd talk about what we were going to do after our big ride and no longer had to train. The highlight of the evening would be at 9:01. Just _after_ the deli had closed and locked their door. We'd watch as people would tear ass into the parking lot in their car, screech into a parking spot, jump out and walk up to the door. They'd pull the door handle and the door wouldn't budge. So, they'd pull again. The same way they'd push the elevator button after someone else has already pressed it. "Maybe that first try didn't 'take' or something. I'll try again.". Still the door wouldn't budge. Then they'd look at the hours sign on the door, then look at their watch and get the most dejected look on their face.

The Ride came and went. But we missed each other. So we'd email each other. "Hey, it's 95 out and the dew point is around 73. There's no breeze to speak of, but I was considering riding Hills tonight. You interested?" "You bet. See ya at 6:15" Granted, after the Ride, the number of laps people were riding dropped off considerably, and the dinner after got to be longer and longer. It was a family.

Then winter came. The time changed and no one was able to get any laps in before it was pitch black. School started back for some, and others got different jobs that required more time. The family started to drift apart. Now, instead of close brothers and sisters, we were like distant cousins who'd see each other at Christmas.

Excpept for MM. He and I kept finding other things to do together outside of riding. We'd grab dinner somewhere else. We'd help each other move. We'd bring beer/wine to each other's place for dinner. There's something about him that keeps sucking you back in. Always wanting more. First one's free dontcha know...

Oh we still ride. When we're riding that is. Unfortunately, my bike is broken into 2 pieces at the moment and I just got married, so time to go look for a new bike is in short supply. Every time I call him, he's like "you calling to go look at bikes?" "uhhhh no, actually, can I borrow your Jeep to move some furniture?"