I smell like fireworks

I was going to take today off from blogging, but I woke up early, so whadduhfuck. What was I going to do? Go "training?" Pffffttttt... it's February.

Why not drop some "Season" knowledge.

Last week I made it official. I will be returning to both the Trans-Sylvania Epic and the Breck Epic in 2012. For those keeping score at home, that would be my third and fourth times attending each event respectively. This year's TSE is shaping up to be even better than previous years. Raystown, a fun roller coaster ride that requires staying on the gas for 40+ miles, has been shortened slightly. That's good for me since last year this was the stage that cost me the most time (and the leader's jersey). The Super D day is now going to be an XC distance racing stage that will guarantee more time back at camp for beer. And most importantly, the Queen stage (my favorite) on Tussey Ridge will get even queenier with the addition of more singletrack.

Game on.

I love riding on rocks. Technical, shit nasty, fugly, forward progress impeding rocks. Pee Yay has them, and I wants them badly.

Breck Epic. What can I say? I suck there. The elevation destroys any chance I have at being competitive. It doesn't matter. It's just the most beautiful place to ride, a bunch of people I like are going, and it's an experience in a whole nother world.

And then there's promoter Mike McCormack. He could talk me into wearing a snowmobile suit made out of used diapers. Smooth operator, that one is. Currently the single speed field is the largest one of all the classes.

I would imagine is has a lot to do with the fact that the 2012 race is now the Single Speed Stage Race World Championship. I hope I'm not gluing pubes to my chin after it's all said and done.

And last but not least, I'm going back to the Tour de Burg, "the only race that matters." I can not stress enough how hard this event is and how much I hate road bikes (two days are on 28mm tires), but yet it's like that hard liquor that tastes so good and feels so right until the next afternoon when you find yourself face down on the cold concrete of an unfamiliar garage smelling of bum vomit and wearing someone else's underwear... on your head.

A smarter person would tell you that racing three stage races in three months is bad news. As a matter of fact, she said so right here.

"Mountain bike stage races such as Trans Rockies, BC bike race and Breck Epic are similar to 24-hour solo races in that recovery rate is highly dependent on the manner in which the athlete raced. Generally, 7 day stage races fall in the 3 week recovery time frame. Scheduling 1-2 stage races per season is reasonable for most athletes."

I believe she's talking about "athletes" that are "racing" as opposed to "idiots" who are looking to squeeze as much fun into one summer as possible. That would be me, and that would be what I'm doing.

I can't wait for the "Season" to really get rolling. Am I excited? Do I smell excited?