2 turn into 7

So, it's Thurday (well, nearly Friday), and I'm getting around to writing about the ride on Sunday - must be a record!
I got an email from Ted. He was in town and wanted to go riding. Thunderstorms were for casted, and Friday had been nothing but hard rain, but surprisingly the trails weren't bad at all, and it barely rained all day.
I climbed up the Providence Farm trail and met Ted in the parking lot.
We were a little way along Middle T when Willi came up behind us. We followed him up Skywalker and to the beginning of Field of Dreams, where Ted convinced Willi to ride with us to the top, a decision that I think he soon started to regret.
Willi does a massive chunk of the trail maintenance and trail building up on the mountain. He rides a 45 lb downhill bike faster than most trail riders go on their 25 lb XC bikes, carries a saw, and wheelie-drops off everything. And he's at least 60.
Willi puts everyone to shame.
While we were stopped at the top, four people that Willi knew came along, and we all ended up riding down together.
I got on a bit better with the bike today though. I was able to keep up with Willi on most of Field of Dreams, and I "felt" faster on all the singletrack. The shorter (40mm) stem and short, flat bars helped. I went to flick the ProPedal lever on when I got back on the road, and realized it had been on for the whole ride. Either it needs a lot more air in (though it's only sagged to 20%, and Trek recommends 25%), or I need a hardtail.

What I realized on this ride was how much fun it is to chase someone. Trying to keep up with Willi really pushed me to go faster, and I just rode a lot of stuff without thinking about it. I don't seem to be able to push myself when I ride alone.
Is this why people love racing?

Anyway, thanks for getting me to come out riding Ted. I would have probably sat at home all day waiting for it to rain. It was a really good ride.