There should be another word for the person that shuttles riders and bikes up the hill time after time...oh yeah, that word in my case would be "wife" - better known as Jenn.  That's right, I'm the sucker that wakes up before the crack of dawn on my day off from work and drags myself into the truck for the hour and a half drive (in the case of this past weekend) in order for my husband and his friends to ride "the" trail.  This trail must be worth the hour and a half drive since my husband strives to ride it at least once a month if work allows.  So, of course, I go along with it since it's "quality time" spent together!

So, there I am at the top of the first run, dropping everyone off, sitting in the truck becuase the wind is blowing so much I think the wind chill is down to almost freezing (ok, so I might be exagurating a little!).  Once they have taken off on their first run, I head off for the 25 minute drive down the mountain.  The drive down could probably be done in 15 minutes, but (1) I love life and want to enjoy it as long as possible by not driving off the side of mountain in a sharp curve and (2) the more time spent driving in the warm car means less time spent sitting at the bottom staring at the same scene for 15 minutes.  I must admit that the view driving down is nice, you can see the whole town and the ocean, so I can't complain about that...not that I'm complaining at all...it's quality time, right?

Once I reach the bottom, I sit and wait...and wait...and wait.  Ok, so sometimes the wait isn't that long and other times it can be forever.  It seems like forever when someone gets a pinch flat half way down the trail and takes twice as long to ride down, or when someone breaks their chain guide and can't peddle and therefore "glides" slowly down the mountain.  It can also seem like forever when I have to pee really bad and I'm not sure if there's enough time to drive to the closest gas station to take care of business before everyone reaches the bottom.  So, I sit and I wait.

Then the vicious cycle starts all over.  Once they've all reached the bottom, they load back up into the truck while endlessly yapping about the ride they just had and what they could do better on the next run.  Then we're off, for the 20 minute drive back up the mountain to start this all over.  But it's "quality time" right?

Once everyone is satisfied with the rides they have had, then it's time to reward the shuttle driver (that would be me) for all of her hard work.  And what is the reward you might be asking?  Lunch...yep, it's something that we would have done no matter who was driving the truck.  I'm certainly not complaing, but I think there needs to be something more to this alleged reward besides something that is bound to happen no matter what.  After lunch it's back in the truck for the hour and a half trek home and another day off of work gone by.  All in the name of "quality time" together!

Just wait until I get my next horse...I see horse shows in my husband's future!!

by Jennifer Wilkinson