a visit with a man of great strength and dignity

I have always been attracted to exceedingly strong people. Peter Massard Hixson, the college roommate, had the strength of at least two people. He could sailboard in conditions that sent most men scurrying for shelter.

Then there's Patrick Kildow. The toughest man on the 2006 Tour de France Challenge, Patrick has the strength of a bull and the cheery disposition of a Labrador retriever. It didn't matter if the wind was on the nose, the temperature was over 106, the roads were melting, or he crashed at high speed on a descent. He was good company the entire trip.

In the beginning, I was in great difficulty with an unpleasant illness, and I requested to ride next to Patrick. His good karma and his strength were both contagious, and I found myself feel better when our handlebars were an inch apart.

When Patrick invited me to visit his home in Park City, Utah, I thought, hell yeah. The chance to spend some time with Patrick would be a great source of inspiration. We made arrangements well in advance, and I decided to step on downhill skis again for the first time in fifteen years or so.

At the last minute, Patrick got called out of town on a back country ski trip. So he left me the house and detailed instructions on how to get around. In his note, he wrote, "Help yourself to anything you may need, if you can't find it, I probably don't have it."

Patrick is a man dedicated to simplicity. A successful business man who owned three meineke's, he sold them all and became a ski instructor in the winter and a bicycle guide in the summer. On his mantle, there's a picture of him with his ski class of seven-year-olds who race. There's also a picture of his current girlfriend, and his old girlfriend.

Patrick says the old girlfriend gets to stay on the mantle because he likes the dog she is posing next to. Bachelors get away with such things. Husbands do not.

After fifteen years away from the sport of skiing, I was pleased to return. The new equipment is clearly superior to the old stuff, and within fifteen minutes, I found the old groove returning.

Park City was enjoying its best winter in recent memory. For the first time in nine years, school was cancelled. The locals said this was as good as it gets.

While it was sad to miss seeing Patrick in person, it was great to visit his home. The simple life is the good life. He still has his Trek super light and now also boasts a Giant that is suited to climbing. He was kind enough to leave the keys to his Toyota truck as well as some lift passes, so the trip turned out to be a bargain.

Fans of Patrick will be pleased to know that he is well and enjoying his lifestyle. He is strong, healthy, happy, and continues to live by his personal motto, "work...that's so overrated."

I'm hoping he comes back East to visit in August when the Tour is over and he needs a bit of time to recover.