the difference between competition and battle

i've had one hell of a time so far learning how to ride with our merry band of misfits, freaks and satanists (the lawyer). being on the low end of the riding scale (and being the biggest fatass) has helped push me to be a better rider (and slightly less of a fatass), and the kind of toughness you develop balancing your ass on two wheels is a total mental exercise - knowing that at any time you could just say "screw this, this is stupid, i'm just going to drink a beer", but your brain and your buddies just call you a pussy.

and that's a good thing, because it keeps you on the bike for another lap on davis hill, or gets you up at 6AM for a pre-dawn ride (where you hit the one stump in a bog and end up face-first in muddy goodness). that kind of incentive is what's going to help us during the jay challenge when, after dennis has made the decision to bitch (thanks for the beer!), means the rest of us can feel free to do so.

however, there's one form of training that i suggest we all take part in before we hit jay - the kind of endeavor where you aren't pushing yourself to pedal another mile, but to pummel your opponent for the glory of the game, then get royally plastered - ironically, also for the glory of the game. it's a battle. true physical competition, where only the best TEAM can prevail, not the one with the best ATHLETE. and it's a great way to unleash some aggression.

let's play some rugby, boys. that'll test your mettle. check it out, sometimes you even get pictures of yourself looking tough.

lovingly submitted, north korea