It's not you, it's me

I think sometime ago I announced that I'd be riding for MOOTS in 2010, but so help me I can't find the post even though I looked through the archives for at least three minutes. I made that announcement (or maybe I didn't) following a phone call sometime back in way early October. During that conversation both parties expressed a certain level of interest in continuing our relationship through next year. All the particulars would be sorted out in November, and by December things should be rolling right into the new year.

Well December came and more discussions were had, and for better or worse I've decided to not go on with MOOTS in 2010. This may not be one of the best decisions I've ever made, but I went with my gut and that's that. I didn't have something lined up or waiting in the wings, and there wasn't a better option at the time. Something told me it was time to go back out on my own again and go old school in 2010.

It was not an easy decision to make. Without getting all sappy I'll just say that I was a bit conflicted since I got to know some of the people at MOOTS, and despite being such a misanthrope I actually liked them, and I wouldn't want my decision to reflect poorly on them.

Just to quell the rumors...

MOOTS did not drop me because I wrecked my Escalade into my neighbor's tree while my wife was chasing me down the driveway with a floor pump threatening to kill me for my wayward transgressions.

This is not about money or the fact that someone forgot to remove the yellow M&M's from the candy dish at the MOOTS guesthouse when I stayed there in July.

Peter did not offer me a gold plated Misfit diSSent FE if I would leave MOOTS and run off to Moab with him so we can dumpster dive and ride all day for the rest of our lives whilst placating our primal urges by having brief flings with passing trailer trash females that are left alone in the campgrounds while their husbands are out 4X4'ing.

I did not lose my MOOTS Mooto X in a back alley poker game, although I mighta risked it and let it ride a few times on a shitty hand counting on my bluffing skills and fast feet to see me clear.

Hopefully by going out on my own a certain lack of professionalism will return to Bad Idea Racing. Gone are the MOOTS team kits, and there will be a return of an old favorite and perhaps something new for 2010. What exactly I'll be riding on next year is still not 100% determined, but I assure you it will have pink Industry Nine wheels, a Cane Creek headset, some genuinely innovative products awesomely strapped to it, and it will travel all over the place attached to a Raxter Rack. I plan on being out there just as much as ever, and I'll be announcing a very loosely put together schedule soon enough in accordance with my usual "Commit early and often" plan. This year I will go back to e-scribbling the words "Team Dicky" on the race entry forms in lieu of having a title sponsor, and the plan is to stay that way for at least the next twelve months.

As shit comes together over the next few weeks I'll update the blog accordingly. There is a new sponsor (not a frame sponsor or a title sponsor or a beer sponsor... meh) that I'll be announcing sometime early next week... someone I've wanted to work with in the past, but it's taken years to work our way through all the paperwork and legal stuff.

If I need more money to make it through the year maybe I'll just convert my blog to an online jewelry store like Dejay did...

FYI: Bad Idea Racing jerseys are in the works. When I know more you'll know more. Keep in mind that I'll be funding the 2010 "season" in part with the proceeds, but given recent circumstances I will be donating a yet to be determined percentage of my take to the Charlotte Humane Society.