Just a flash wound

Well I'm taking my time.

I'm just moving along.

I'm thirteen days out from my wreck in Colorado.  I've worn out the internet trying to learn something different than what I already know.  These things take time.  Soft tissue injuries can take four weeks, and sometimes aren't fully healed for four to six months.

Barring a miracle (I put my application in), I'd have to think my participation in this weekend's Rocky River Shiver is iffy, and even if I could, it's probably not something I should do.  The bigger picture here is obviously the Breck Epic, which I'll be leaving for in exactly four weeks from the date of my accident.

I planned on being there on my turgid single speed.  Right now, that sounds painful and damaging.  So does dragging a 140mm hard tail SS up Wheeler.  So does riding a geared bike with squishing bits.

Besides all that sobbing, I feel quite fortunate.  One of the first things I did when I got off the side of that mesa was make sure I could sling a messenger bag over my head.  At least I could go back to work and not eat up PTO from the couch.  Things coulda been worse.  Much worse.  I'm able to take a deep breath with minimal discomfort, and I can sleep through an entire night pain-free.  Waking up and getting outta bed is a different story.  Thank dawg for ibuprofen. 

One of the first things I did when I got home was get my bikes all back together in the most logical sense in order to restore some sense of normalcy.  Sure, I didn't think I'd be mountain biking any time soon, but seeing my bikes hanging on the walls in various states of disrepair made me feel all the worse.  The XT wheels that Matt generously gifted me got the Vassago Meatplow V.8  back up and rolling, and the Industry Nine wheels from the Vassago (plus some XT brakes and a riser bar) got the Epic back in business and no longer bar-banging the top tube with all it's dangling bits.

I can't ride those bikes, but at least I can stomach looking at them.

My Cane Creek Hellbender 70 bottom bracket showed up...

And my freshly crabon crunked bike was rideable enough for a grocery store run.  Some XC'ish tires should be here tomorrow, and my super drooper should show up next week.  Then we'll have a contest where everyone can guess how many stock parts are left on this bike.

And on that note, I never got around to doing even one test ride on the 2.8 Rekon that I mounted to the Vertigo Meatplow V.7 specifically for the Breck Epic... which means I'm going to have to take a stab at the best pressure for this tire I've never ridden.

I think 14 PSI sounds good to me.  You?

It's been thirteen days, and I miss the thrill of mountain biking so much already.  I was having the time of my life on the new bike, and all that joy got squashed in eleven days.  Once I get back from the Breck Epic, I have one free weekend before...

I'm doing the Shenandoah Mountain 100 on a geared bike?

At first, I was thinking about how I've never done the SM 100 on a geared bike in my ten finishes/twelve past attempts... but then it dawned on me.  I've never done a hundie on a geared bike ever.  Shit, I haven't done any endurance race on a geared bike since PMBAR '04 when I dragged my Ellsworth ID and an under-prepared stranger from Ohio all over the Pisgah National Forest.

Anyways, shit's coming at me hot and heavy, and time is moving slower than a Capitol Riot Special Committee investigation...

Of course I wrote this blerhg post on a Tuesday planning to publish it on a Thursday and I woke up on Wednesday just feeling "sore."  Not in pain.  Not having to get out of bed carefully.  Just sore.

So there's that.

So I guess we'll see how I feel Saturday when I'd actually have to get ready for four hours of pain on Sunday.