HAHAHA... I MADE IT TO THE TOP

HE'S PROBABLY THE BEST ATHLETE I'VE EVER COMPETED AGAINST.  He taught me to play tennis, and a lot about winning and losing.  More than once he claimed I'd never beat him until he was a hundred years old.  He's getting very close...

... and I'd give anything to hit the ball with him again.

At lunch today, I asked him what would be the first thing he does when he gets to heaven.

I'll look at them all and say Ha Ha Ha, I made to the top!

Who?

All the guys who told me to go to hell.

Why?

'Cause I beat 'em all the time.

We all laughed, and I felt for those guys. 

I was one of them. 

Even though I was pretty good at one point on the court and he had to be 50ish, I could barely get a game off him.  Never a set.

Once I asked him why he took up tennis.  He wasn't super tall.  He was blue collar all the way.  He'd come to this country as a boy..

... and struggled and fought to fit in, to make something of his life, to persist and work really, really hard...

Because I was so gawdawful the first time... I'd always been a good athlete and here was this sport where  I was terrible... and I wanted to practice and beat those guys.  And I knew I could out work and out hustle all of them.

Of all the lessons he taught me it was that one.  Hustle and hardwork can make up for a lot of deficiencies.  

Sitting here after a nice day visiting, I realize his impact is maybe greater than I imagine. 

After all, I am now 50ish myself, and though it's not tennis, I am still doing my best to out hustle and out work my young friends.

I hope we each make it to the top.

Speaking of making it to the top, the best to get to the top a long climb is to be properly fueled by a drink like this.

https://pedalindustries.com/collections/nutrition/products/3-2-1-hydration-base

One of the key ingredients is BCAA - branch chain amino acids.  Those little guys are the proteins that take care of our muskulls when we're abusing them.  

This is truly an amazing product, much more than simple electrolytes and sugar.

And we ship it fer free.

And if you're a member of the PEDALposse you can save big.

https://pedalindustries.com/products/pedalposse-monthly-subscription

---

161.4 
stretch
8 hrs
no ride