I've had it

2012.

It's over... basically.  Plenty of people will have today off.  I won't.  Instead, I'll be running all over town picking up and delivering end-of-the-year crap.  Checks, closings, deposits, all manner of things that need to be done just because we're in the final business hours of the man-made concept known as a calendar year.

I should be posting a glorious, detailed and heartfelt look back at 2012.  Not sure why I can't muster it.  Maybe I'm tired from the weekend or perhaps I went a little too hard in the paint all year long.

But that's just how you gotta play it.

Yesterday was the last ride of the year for me, in the dirt that is.  Many friends, some old and some new, riding in the ancient Uwharrie mountains.  Bluebird skies, perfect trail conditions, and a lazy pace.

I managed to take plenty of blurry images of everyone standing around straddling their bikes at various intersections washed out by the sun or just behind the tip of my finger.

Riding with FM:CLT and The Dude.  Face time in real time.

Back to the whole "end of 2012" thing.

If I were to make a weak attempt at putting the year under a microscope and analyzing it like a flake of onion skin, this might be it.

I am happy to report that I somehow managed to squeak in my last two last days of trail work this past month, completing my "12 days in 2012" commitment.  Twelve days is nothing to brag about, but me actually sticking to any kind of commitment is.  Will I be committing to "13 days in 2013?"  No, not because I don't wanna do it.  I just don't wanna say that I will.  At this rate, I'll be doing 50 days in 2050.  I set myself up for enough fail as it is.

Racing.  Three firsts, three seconds (including the hard fought Breck Epic), two thirds, and three DNF's.  Truly an all or nothing kinda year.  For the first time in a long time, none of the DNF's really stick in my craw.   Normally any DNF will fester under my skin like a tiny boil of regret until such time that I can redeem myself.  Either I am growing as a human or I'm just lowering my expectations to meet my lack of resolve and performance.  I'll just say that it was a great year, especially considering the amount of effort I didn't bother putting into preparing my body for racing.  Perhaps I should do more recovery eating and beverage therapy in 2013.

This ends my seventh year of blogging.  Seven years.  I'm pretty sure that at some point I am going to write a blog post that will be exactly the same as one I have done in the past.  Verbatim.  Fatty recently mentioned that he is somewhere in the eight year zone and wondered what the shelf life of a blog might be.  Knowing that there are those of you sitting on the toilet right now reading this on a smartphone or padthing working through a morning constitutional... that you might have to resort to reading The Onion or playing Angry Birds?

It gives me the strength to go on... for at least another year.  After that, might I suggest a laxative?

I found the Mexican food at Epcot to be most cleansing.  You might even shit your eyes out.

Happy new year to all, yinzers.  See you in hell (2013).