Not quite the 2012 Month of Madness

When I heard that Elden "Fatty" Nelson was coming to the Breck Epic, I imagined a single speed blogger face-off of monster donkey awesome epicness. He, the super blogger of the highest caliber doing his first stage race ever, and me, the marginal performing but experienced stage racing underblogger coming from the East to steal his thunder and if all went as planned, 7% of his blog readers.

Unfortunately, this is Elden hugging his Leadville 100 machine, not his Breck Epic bike of choice. He'll be racing in the duo class with his wife (on shifty bit bikes), thus eliminating the match-up of the century... which means you'll have to settle for me just beating Peter and his lackluster blog all week long.

I just wanted to be better than Elden at something. Is that so wrong?

I guess I have slightly better hair. I'll take that.

Maybe I could talk Peter into being my co-ed duo partner (he's been mistaken for a woman multiple times in the past), and we could take on the powerhouse team of Fatty and the Hammer.

Skinny and the Faux Clammer.

Just a thought.

When I return from the Breck Epic, I'm taking the next weekend off, although there is a sweet 50 miler just an hour from my house.

Then there's the ever present race in my schedule since 2006, the Shenandoah Mountain 100. Like death and taxes, I can not avoid this race no matter how hard I try. Too much bang (beer, camping, food, schwag, beer) for the buck and a great chance to catch up with my extended family. Damn you, Chris Scott.

Last night I signed up for the Fool's Gold, which is only six days after the Shenandoah. I thought about just doing the 50 miler with aspirations of podium glory, but it just seems like the pussy way out. The full hundred miles for me, like it or not. Going up against the current crop of NUE single speeders two weeks in a row will be great for my self-esteem. I did this race the first few years it existed and then missed it for the last three years due to scheduling conflicts with Breck. The race has been shifted back a month, and thus I have no excuse to not go have my ass handed to me twice at the ever popular 100 mile distance.

Maybe The Pflug will be bitten by a Georgia cobra. Stranger things have happened to him this year.

And then a week later is the Pisgah Monster Cross race.

I haven't done a gravel'esque cross endurance race since the Southern Cross in 2011. I'm still not sure how I feel about the concept of of ultra cross, but people are coming in droves to try it out. I can't imagine one of these things being much harder than the one Eric has laid out for our "pleasure." Sign up before it sells out... assuming you're into pain, gravel, climbing, pain, and pain.

So not quite a full, unrelenting Month of Madness, but close. More than a month long, 500+ miles of "racing," and more "fun" than you can shake a fun stick* at.

*fun stick sold separately