You ate a what???!

So, tonight we had our weekly 10-mile Time Trial here in Chico. This one was held, for the first time, out on Aguas Frias Road just south of town. 5 miles out, 5 miles back.....all flat....but sections are exposed to the wind. And today, we had some wind out there - headwind on the way out, tailwind on the way back.

Well, anyway, awhile back I made a bet with my friend Steve Vickery(the EMC dude in the photos above). The bet was this - If Steve could beat 23-minutes in a 10-mile Time Trial, I would eat......of all things......a banana peel. Now, the reason this bet was made was because Steve had come awfully close a couple of times in getting that ever-elusive sub-23 minute time out on our 10-mile Time Trials. But......he just couldn't quite get there.

Tonight, as the pictures show, he made it.........timing a 22:50 for this Time Trial. And.....after this banana peel had been sitting in a warm car for an hour and a half.....then on top of the car during the race.......I downed it.....all of it. And man, let me tell you - those things take awhile to eat! The stem on those banana peels - it's like chewing gum - it just won't dissolve. Bitter, sucks the saliva right out of your mouth, just nasty tasting.

But to me, it was all worth it - just to see my buddy break that time.....and I'd do it again in a second.

So now, the next bet up is this - If Rich Thurman can beat 22 minutes out at these Time Trials......it's dog food or cat food for me......whatever Rich wants.....canned, bagged, dry, wet food.......it's up to him. And I can tell you this - I'm not safe - I'll be eating pet food before the summer's over.

Good job to all of you out there tonight! The Results:

1. Rich Thurman 22:33
2. Steve Vickery 22:50
3. Kris Blee 24:33
4. Kevin Speacht 25:24
5. Michael Rodriguez 25:54
6. Marc Nix 27:10
7. Jenn Gruber 30:20
8. Amy King 30:51