Why not?

I decided I can't go into the Pisgah 111k with a racer's mentality.  If I blow up, I've done myself zero good.  It took over a week for me to really feel 100% after PMBAR (my allergies not really helping), so I'm more than likely settling for just one "race" this weekend.  I really need as much of Sunday as possible to get ready for the Trans-Sylvania Epic and also take care of life stuff AND spend time with the family (yuck, I know).

remember to insert winky face emoji here later

I just don't want to spend every last minute after work five days straight getting ready for TSE... while swimming in the cloud of exhaustion.  So, sorry 55k, meet the chopping block (although I'm bringing two kits just in case I decide I'm that stupid).

SRSLY.  If you look, there's two days of dumb racing stuff there.  I'm ready (as far as stuff goes).

So, forgoing the notion of "racing" the 111k and instead riding it, why wouldn't I go ahead and give the 27.5+ thing another go?

Rekon 2.8 front and rear.  First time I've had same-same tires on my bike since I used to run Hutchinson Scorpions on my Dean 26" single speed.  Struggling to get over this disturbing aesthetic.

I figure the gnarlyburger descents down Cantrell, Pilot Rock and Black Mountain as well as the technical bits on Squirrel Gap will serve as a great test for the plussers leading into the TSE.  If they really aren't the bees knees for rigid single speeding in techy terrain, I'll be reminded all day long.  Hopefully with PMBAR on 29" wheels fresh in my brain, the comparison will be worthwhile.

I'm looking forward to spending the day in the woods with friends.  I'm also going to have a chance to hang out with my old Ohio friend, Jimmy the Gimp... seen here with his Kuato in a matchy matchy kit.

He's coming down from the Not-so-great (and not-so-white) White North with a bunch of other people who must not be aware of how hard one hundred and eleven kilometers of Pisgah will really be.  I look forward to hopefully being in front of some of them, so I can greet them at the finish line with a burrito, a beer, and a boisterous guffaw.

Tomorrow morning is going to be all packing the car and cooler, so no blerhg.  Of course, coming back earlier on Sunday will make it more likely that I'll actually have the energy to post up something readable next Monday.

You're welcome (not as much as me tho).