Ups and downs. Strikes and gutters.

Last race of the year on Saturday.  Assuming I don't sign up for something stupid (like a cross race), this is the end of the "season."

Finally.

For most, if not all intents and purposes, this might as well be a kitchen timer.  How else will I know that an hour has gone by, and I forgot to eat or drink anything?

Going into the Fool's Gold 50 (60?) with the expectation that it will be... fun?  I really like the trails down there, not so keen on the 15 mile lollipop stick of gravel and pavement to get out there to the good stuff and back, but the ratio is still acceptable enough to make it worthwhile.  My plan to take tomorrow off work and drive down early, set up camp, check in, eat, maybe go for a ride?  Yeah, all that is gone.   Something came up, so I'm working 2/3 of a day tomorrow and getting there in time to set up a tent and pass out.  Not the best plan for making great bike race, but it is my best plan that I can come up with.

I'm so hoping the rain holds off until after the race.  Not so excited about the idea of setting up a tent in the rain and darkness, not to mention the fact that they might use the backup course (no trail) which means I woulda set up my bike differently, mostly just to keep the unnecessary-for-gravel  Fox fjork out of the elements.*

Privileged elitist semi-athlete problems.

After this race is over with, no more mustache.  Time to let my upper lip see the light of day again.  Sad to see it go, but mustaches are for racing.

Also, looking forward to messing around with things.  Mebbe putting a 29+ Chronicle front on the Vertigo Meatplow V.7 with a rigid frok and a 27.5+ Rekon on the back.  Of course the obvious downside to that would be having a 27.5 front wheel/29" rear wheel just doing nothing and the By:Stickel Meatplow V.6 also doing nothing... and I just bothered to put it back together after getting it back from Durango... for apparently no reason.

But I do want to try it.

Because I can.

Even tho that means that will be my only bike that will be trail ready.  Whatever.

There are still plenty of fun weekends ahead.  An upcoming La Vida Bachelor weekend, Interbike's Cyclofest is coming to Charlotte, a family trip to DC (this looks like a navigational delight to ride), and the Faster Mustache:Charlotte team retreat to Mulberry Gap.

Stoked to be doing more dicking around, although I've been pretty much doing that all year anyways.  A more focused dicking around tho, without the intermittent trying to care about performance and such.

Oh yeah, in case you don't already get Dirt Rag, you should.

I came out of retirement (I always do) to interview Sue Haywood.  I think I managed to ask her at least a few questions that weren't the same old-same old that she'd already heard, peeling back a few layers of the onion that is Sue Haywood; Recreational Pro.  There's some other good stuff in there as well.  Interviews with Floyd Landis, Ray Petro (of Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park), and some moving words about the late Jeff Archer (recent Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee, owner of First Flight Bicycles and founder of MOMBAT).

It's a good one.  Get it.  Now, please.

* Looking now, it seems as if the rain has been canceled.  Good times.