January 1,2000

     Sitting in front of the television one night a thought came to me that we should do something for New Years Eve. In the past years it was early to bed for my wife Lyn because of her love of horses. But this year was different. The big 2000 is coming and ringing in the New Year on the couch did not seem appealing.
      I said to Lyn, "let's do a night ride." So she got the next day off and the word went out about the ride. The younger guys in the group had other plans for that night. Hanging out with college buddies seems to be a better time then riding with dad in the woods.
      Others wanted to ride in the Millennium around 7:30 so they could be home with their loved ones at the drop of the ball. The roadies of the group asked, a ride at night, in the woods? The hard core mountain biker that I thought for sure would ride said he was going to bed early because of a big ride he wanted to do the next day. Only one other rider was into the midnight spin. The night turned out to be clear and cold. You couldn't ask for a better night, no wind high 20s and just a touch of fog to make it exciting.
      Lyn and I met our friend TK in a restaurant parking lot and lit up the woods around 11:00 p.m. I suggested to my riding partners that we would ride till 12:00 then get the hell out of there. They agreed. Once on the bike it felt like any other night ride with the cold air stinging your face on the descents and sweating on the climbs. But the night seemed different. It was quiet, too quiet. At 11:58 p.m. my alarm went off, so we stopped and started the count down 3,2,1 "Happy New Year!" It was not an epic ride by any means. But when a grandchild asks Grandpa how did you celebrate the Millennium. "Why we Mountain biked it in."