Is that all there is my friends??

Then let's keep dancing.


Sorry for the Cleveland reference...

I'm gonna consider this the halfway point in my "season". I'm not sure if it's an actual midpoint, but it certainly feels like some sort of lull, so let's just leave it at that without over analyzing it. What's coming up in the latter half of 2009?

Fool's Gold 100 is next on the plate. Hundies are pretty much my favorite format, and this will be my third year in a row for the FG100. Long enough to not be too fast, but short enough that I don't miss any sleep, and I also get to enjoy frosty cold beverages after the finish. There's a fair amount of competition registered; Gunnar, Captain Morgan, Roger Masse, and because I'm picking him up at the airport next week, Elk. This will oddly enough be my longest race so far this year, except for maybe PMBAR, where Thad and I went between 75 and 300 miles in the Pisgah National Forest. Can I stay away from Bruce's cooler on Friday and podium on Saturday? We'll see.

Next up I am considering doing the Cackalacky Cup for shits and giggles. Two short time trials, one straight up and normal and one with "obstacles", both just a short drive from my house. The only downside is that there is no single speed class and to race expert I need a one year USAC licence (I don't have one, and I don't plan on getting one for 2009). So if I go to this relatively inexpensive funfest I have to pony up $60 to "the man" or race in the sport class (or the 35+ sport class). The danger there being the risk of someone accusing me of sandbagging, or even worse... getting smoked in the sport class.

After that the next event is the Shenandoah Mountain 100. I'm sure there will be a stacked field there this year with Gerry Pflug leading the charge, but even though I've finished on the podium the last two years in a row (second and third respectively) I'm confident that cyclingnews.com will leave me outta any of their pre-race hype and Chris Scott won't mention me in his usual pre-race communication/smack talk email. I would love to take this race very seriously, but when a race has pizza at the top of the hardest climb how do you not eat it? I mean it's PIZZA ON A MOUNTAIN!!!!

With my two hundies for 2009 behind me it will be time for a vacation at the 2009 Single Speed World Championships. I'm hoping I still get to go. I've been slack in the planning department, and although Thad and I have some tentative plans there is nothing set in stone and no plane ticktes purchased. I'm sorta torn over whether or not I should go here, or....

Interbike 2009. It is the week after SSWC09. I pretty much have to choose one or the other, as doing both is near impossible (for me). I've got places to stay, but I do have to get out there on my own. I'd love to look for some new sponsors... wait, let me clarify that. I hope to be on my MOOTS again in 2010 (hopefully I haven't mucked that one up), but I'm talking about other sponsors. The problem is other than a nutrition sponsor I'm not sure what else I need/want, so going out there without an agenda is probably pointless since I'll spend more on a plane ticket than I would on gels and drinks and shit. Meh, did I just talk myself outta it?

Finally, or sorta finally, is the Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race. If you were super nosey you could go to the list of registered riders and see if I've paid up yet (I haven't). There's a few reasons I haven't tossed my money in at this juncture. I feel like in this economy I should probably wait till closer to the cut-off point to register and commit $550 to $650 of my hardly earned money. Why the discrepancy in entry fees? I still haven't decided if I want to enter in the single speed class ($550) or the Elite 40+ ($650). There's a bigger purse in the Elite 40+, but also a more more gearied field. This is the year of the "40+" for me, so it's a bit of a decision I'll have to make, and like all important decisions it's best to let it languish until it can be made rashly.

So that's what I got left for 2009. All comments will be considered for at least sixty seconds before I totally disregard them.