Winter Shart Tarck 2020... pre-umbles

A preamble to a shart tarck race?

Might be hard to know where I am if if you don't know where I was.

I signed up in the 50+ class the very first day that registration was open.  I was more than sure that I wanted more of what I got last year, me trying my hardest to hang with fellow "olds" on my single speed.  It went fairly well in 2019. 

Race 1: Fourth place by a couple seconds.

Go home, put on smaller tires and a bigger gear.

Race 2.  Second place

I'm on the right track.

Race 3. Fifth?

The day before the race, I let Todd convince me to go to the mountains to play (and tie an anchor to my bike)

Race 4. Fourth.

Had a cold... what seems like my annual cold at this point.

Race 5. Third.

No excuses.  That's where I ended.  Also, third overall in the series points.  I was pretty chuffed on the results.

On December 3rd, I registered for the "olds" again.  That gave me 39 long days to dwell on the decision.

Do I wanna be stressed out for five weeks about "performance?"

Do I wanna skip an opportunity to go to the mountains on a Saturday FOR FIVE WHOLE WEEKS?

Does the idea of "warming up,"  skittering around for forty minutes on skinny tires, getting pounded to shit with a rigid fork and high PSI, and bleeding out of my eyeballs trying to hang with the geared riders on the long flat garvels and pavement section?

No... no... and more nos the closer I got to race day number one.

Last year, every single Sunday started to feel like a "time to make the donuts"scenario. 

Since I'm old and years seem like days (very interesting short podcast), it feels like it was just yesterday I was trying to keep Mobley in sight, get on Deese's wheel, put a gap on Cardoza...

The closer Sunday got, the more it felt like it was gonna be race number six of a ten race series.

Unngghh...

So, on Thursday I reached out and changed classes to single speed, very much looking forward to the anonymity of a mid-pack finish in the idiot class.  Good enough?

No.

This past Saturday, I was helping out at the Winter Shart Tarck Race clinic for juniors (and some beginners).  I showed up early to get in a few laps and mebbe "enhance" a jump I'd rebuilt the week before.   Gawtdam, I hate riding on these tiny tires.  A 2.25 at 19.5 PSI feels like a rock after riding nothing smaller than a 2.6 since last shart tarck season.  Sure it's fast, but my dinged elbow is protesting, not to mention the thumb injury that I never seem to be fully recovered from that happened... when again? 

Fuck this shit.

Go home, mount the new 2.6/2.35 Forekaster combo that just showed up to the house.  Why not?  I'm kinda curious about how the 2.35 is gonna feel in the rear, and with some real'ish racing coming up so soon, what better time to start shaking things down?

I'm leaving the 32 X 16 gear on there that I used to chase down the geared guys last year, but not because I think it will come in handy.  It's because I had to take a link out of the chain to drop down from an 18, and I didn't really wanna mess with putting a link back in... where are my spare-spare quick links anyways?

I've definitely done what I can to ensure my status as a pack-foddering, fun-having, shart tarcker.  I'm gonna get what I need outta the experience, which will essentially be a Zwift interval workout... just outdoors... in the cold... and mebbe mud.  Since I got in on the registration when it was at its cheapest, even if I skip a race because it's raining some bearing-toasting, brake pad-destroying, chain-stretching amount, it won't really hurt the virtual wallet.

So, single speed in the name of fun and fitness and camaraderie and continued stupidity.