More thoughts on SSWC09 and Interbike

I'm coming down to the wire on my plans for SSWC09. Most of the time I have my "season" planned out six months ahead of time, but this SSWC09 thing is stuck in my craw. My potential travel partner is in the middle of changing his world around to accommodate gainful employment so he can quit selling cigarettes to children at the local playground. I think he should pull a Moocher and quit the whole car wash scene... it's not as glamorous as they make it seem.



Anyways, if Thad has to bail I'll no longer have a travel partner. I already have a place to lay my weary head at casa de Matt McFee, founder of Hermosa Tours, so that is already taken care of at this point. BTW... how awesome is it that my floorspace provider just happens to operate a mountain bike tour operation and also happens to be running the shuttles for all the big rides at SSWC09??? This is a hard opportunity to pass up, but without a travel partner I have to foot the bill for a rental car outta Albuquerque on my own and all the other travel bullshit. This turns my tidy little vacation into the most expensive event I'll do all year. So currently I have no plane ticket, no rental car, and no solid plan... which means that as a planning kinda guy I'm getting very close to the "go-nogo" moment.

I've also given a lot of thought to whether or not I should go to Interbike. Once again, finding a place to stay would not be a problem, and even getting into the show wouldn't require slipping a union security guard a Benjamin this year. The only thing standing in my way is a plane ticket and a reason to actually go. I had mentioned that the only thing I'd really be looking for is a nutrition sponsor since I'm happy with my current user serviceable bike parts and Mike Piazza (Bad Idea Racing manager, coach, attorney, directeur sportif, Dicky handler) is already in intense negotiations with MOOTS as we speak.

" What we're talking about is money, real money, Amigo money. No dough, no show... Yeah, I know I'm just quoting Three Amigos. So what? Are you threatening me? Our price just doubled."

So when I look at it realistically it will cost me more to fly out to Vegas, drink beer, and carouse than I would actually spend on nutrition EVEN IF I ate the proper things I should be eating while "training", racing, and such. Besides, I went to the websites of a few of the companies I thought about approaching and most of them had an online form that you need to fill out (when the time comes) if you are interested in sponsorship. Problem is I don't really fit into a form. When I approach someone for help I usually approach them as myself, not some fill in the blank character. When I present myself for who I am they either "get it" or they don't which is fine with me. If they don't get it then they would do well to stay clear of me. None of that fits very well in a form. All of my sponsors that are currently graphically displayed over there to your right (my left if I was inside your computer) "get it", or at least someone working within the company "gets it". They see whatever it is that they see in me that's worth supporting, and I'm glad they all hired someone (or are actually ran by some crazed overlord) who is mentally unstable enough to work at my level yet can still hold down a job.

So if there are any nutritional supplement companies out there that are run by mentally unstable folks I'll be taking YOUR applications for sponsorship starting today. Please send your proposals my way in the form of a riddle, haiku, or short story to teamdicky at hotmail dot com or just leave them in the comments section. I'll look them over at my earliest convenience.