Hedgehog

Back in the summer of 1992,, I drove down from the cities to hang out with my older brother while he was at college here in Lacrosse.

Now I am done with high school and have been to orientation where I just so happened to meet the love of my life...#ANNA..

But the real reason I was down was to be a Punk hang out in a college house,

which was by far one of the grosses places I have ever been in,, and to ride 

my new Mountain Bike.

My Blaze Orange Gary Fisher.

My brothers house mates were a rag tag bunch of guys that either had bikes or would find one and go up the bluffs then back down,, usually at and or after the bars closed. 

For me I had never ridden up a hill for as long as we had to.

Decked out in my Ski Hut kit,, which I was the only one wearing a super suit,,
we headed out off the campus and out to Old Vineyard road.
This was and still is a very steep and twisty road,,paved but old and forgotten when eventually led to a gravel climb to the top of Hedgehog Bluff.
From here is was single track heaven,, ripping around onto of the bluff through open pastures of wildflowers and steep sandstone cliffs...
Then came the down...
What I can remember it was a mix of single track and maybe an old logging or mining road all over grown and fast.
As I descended and tried to keep up with Paul Gnay I missed what should have been a right hand turn and dumped my self and the bike into a old rottened out tree/stump.
My toe clips were on so tight that the bike and i were still one and thanks to the old decayed tree my young 18 year old body was in one piece.
As the rest of the riding party came around they all checked to see if I was ok..
I earned some street cred for this ride and from here on out
I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
Their was only one thing left to do.
That was open the Phone Book and
Call about a Girl.
I did this and spoke
to #ANNA on the phone for a while.
Don't think that she was impressed with the dorky
city boy on the other end of the phone..
Thankfully that did not last for ever.