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@pajamas
that day was one of the best days of 2008 for me. I registered on the forum the night before to join the ride after cracking up at threads for months. I rode up to Holborn and met two guys at the lights who were riding fixed bikes. It was Sheep and Matt. We rode up to Hyde Park chatting. Then there was Fruitbat, Jonny, Tommy, Cornelius, Provenrad, Hillbilly, Shins... I dug all the beautiful bikes and we talked through the cold, slow, post-snow ride round London. Afterwards we warmed up in the Foundry with beer and bagels and talked some more. Bike shit, bike geekery, build advice and enthusiasm from some of the friendliest people I'd met in ages - it was what I'd been needing after so long poring over Sheldon Brown and FGG by myself.
I remember the girl I'd just started seeing at the time - a girl who I was in the middle of a dream-like first week with - calling me when I was on my fourth pint and telling me she was taking me out for dinner later on so not to get too drunk. And I remember at that point thinking that this day was probably as good as days get.
There haven't been many other moments this year when I felt as content as I did that Sunday afternoon. Most of them have involved people from the forum and our bikes.