Remember the Cottonwood 200 club ride last Sunday? The route went out sixty first street; down the big hill; through Dover and on to Council Grove. I was doing my civic and biking duty by being a Sag at the top of the big hill, just outside Dover. I was the guy handing you bananas and apples and refilling your water bottles. It's the Bananas that caused the real problem. I hadheard, that when bananas are shipped here from South America that sometimes tarantulas slip into the packing crates and make it all the way to market. And since the bike club buys bananas by the case for the hungry hoard of bikers, I think that's where the spider came from. As I was sitting there on the water jugs he must have creep silently and slowly out of the crate and into my rear jersey pockets. I just wish I would have seen him then.

As the last group of riders left the Sag, up rode my buddy Jim the "Animal".

"Come on Don, lets race into Dover for some power bars and granola." "Gee Jim," I replied, "How healthy. How about a sausage Biscuit with butter and cheese on it and a greasy old egg thrown on top?" And with that I jumped on my bike and got a 200 foot head start before he realized I had left. He may have been slow to catch onto me leaving, but he hammered on his pedals and caught me in about 10 seconds.

We were now racing downhill at about 35 mph when Jim yells over; "Stop pedaling and hold real still. A big brown ugly spider is crawling up your back."