I got a story to tell. This past Wednesday, the team was at a race and I had a clear water bottle with a special surprise of thick red liquid in it. A real special surprise to be exact. Jokingly, I pulled the bottle out and offered Jamie a taste. I told him it was a super-carbohydrate drink similar to the Extran boxes. For a minute, Jamie believed me. He then opened the bottle, took a whiff of the strong peppermint smell and realized what it was. At this point, I didn’t really think anyone would actually believe me and give it a go. But Jon seemed extra curious so Jamie offered him the bottle. Jon also quickly realized what we were dealing with and declined. At this point, I began to think we might just have enough interest and someone could quite possibly try my super-carbohydrate drink. But amidst all the excitement, Mike Busa was the most excited of them all. “I’ll drink it”, he said. And with a simple toss of the bottle I had found my man. Mike caught the bottle, and without hesitation lifted it up, tilted his head back and gave it a try. With an instant reaction most suitable for a slow motion comedic movie scene, I extended my right arm and let out a last chance “NNNOOOOOO!”. But it was already to late. Mike Busa had a mouthful of thirst quenching warm-up cream. And not just any leg warm-up cream, but the super-hot-made-for-hellish-conditions-peppermint-scented leg cream. It was awesome.

Categories: Austin King's Chronicles From Across The Pond.