Moab, doth thou truly rock?

I love being other places.  I do not embrace the "thrill of travel," such as it's called.

I want to get where I wanna be with all the things I'm going to need.  Just having to find a toothbrush in Sedona the moment I hit the ground on vacation was what I'd call an "unsettling event."  I prefer my adversity to occur in the wild places on my bike.

So it was less than amusing to me that when I anally checked on my flight status this past Monday, I was surprised to see that my non-stop flight to Salt Lake City had been swapped to a flight with a layover that would have me in Moab building my bike at midnight (my time traveling body's midnight) or so.  I never got an email.  I had no idea.

Poop.

Many chats were had and now I'm going to be up at 3:00AM to catch my flight tomorrow and still have a nerve-wracking layover... and I'll still probably not make the pre-reg on Friday.

All this for a three day stage race with "only" 76 miles (plus a mebbe ten mile ride back into town on day one).

It has yet to be determined where the "fun to stress" ratio will land.

I'm taking my fully turgid single speed bike cycle... for "reasons?"  

The stupid ones first.

1. It's the least hassle.  My Vassago Meatplow V.9 has the shimmed handlebar which makes centering all that shit while rebuilding a hassle.  I realize I can take the stem off the bike, but I'm using the EDC tool/preload cap... and it's not always easy to get it right on the first try IME.  I don't want a rattling headset coming down Porcupine Rim on day one.

2. I'm still kinda paranoid (more so than before) about trails with exposure.  Turgid bikes have a constant bottom bracket height making me less likely to pedal strike and end up 500 feet off the trail in the Colorado River... and yeth, I'll be walking even more (than usual) of the lower part of Porcupine after the race stage ends when the trail hits the Wilderness Study Area.

The stupidest reason last:

3. It's what I do.  Even tho I'm in the 50+ class, riding the geared bike that I've yet to master in terms of all the aspects of the clicking and squishing would be a no bueno.  Plus derailleurs = failleurs.  I've been to Moab what seems like a billionty times on all sorts of bikes (heavy big squish, heavier bigger squish, FS XC SS, and long travel frok'ed SS), but I've never done it in a rigid manner.  I know the upper part of the descent down Porcupine is gonna be "interesting," I haven't ridden the Klondike Bluffs area in a very long time, and the Mag 7 will just be "doable."  So if anything, I'm just ticking off the box of another stage race that I'll have done on a rigid SS.

I'm going with 32X20... because when I said I was going with 32X19, the response made me feel like I was underestimating the course or more than likely overestimating me.  I have zero chance at a podium, so a pleasant ride sounds better than more walking.

So Dahn Pahrs is scooping me up at the airport on Friday, and he told me to bring a bunch of CDs for the drive to Moab... because he knows a guy like me owns CDs.

Unfortunately, I purged my collection during the last move three years ago, and my selection is limited to mebbe my twenty or so "favorites."

I hope he's ready for the greatest hits of Led Zeppelin, Billy Squire, and the double CD of Neil Diamond Live.

See yinz next week.