A week ago tonight I got hit with my first major cold/cough/sinus issue of the year. I guess I was due. In that time I’ve not done a hell of a lot in the way of riding my bike outside. So far I believe the week’s total on “doing stuff” amounts to just three hours on the trainer. Unlike in years past, I have no early spring races coming up that have me anxious about my fitness, nor am I overly concerned about the lack of recent riding, especially since the weather has been ass monkey cold (I just made that phrase up, feel free to use it at your leisure). It’s been sunny nearly every day for a week, but cold enough that I am quite content to spin my miles away in the Stankment™ as snot oozes out my face like a lanced boil.
Had Illness Twenty-Fifteen not struck this week I had kicked around the idea of doing the Melting Mann race on the fatty this weekend.* But between the lingering illness and finding out that the starting line is nearly three freaking hours away from my house had me thinking otherwise. A 6 hour round trip drive to race 30 miles on a fat bike does not seem a good use of my time. Especially when I could lay around and do nothing but watch lackluster FA Cup footy in the morning before attempting a sloppy snirt road ride in what they’ve promised to be a warmer forty degree temps. I’ll believe that when I see it, but that’s what “they” (the weather douches) are saying.
I have a feeling that if I do get out this weekend it’s going to look pretty much like the pic above from last spring: dirt, mud, slush, snow, ice, cow shit runoff, pig urine, brine, vomit, road kill seepage and wet, clumpy sand. NOT that I’m complaining, after riding in 1˚ temps, 40˚ is going to feel like a heat wave.
Elsewheres and Betters
One of the few racer blogs I continue to check out these days is Steve Tilford’s blog. He’s heading to Wisconsin this weekend for the Fat Bike Birkie race and brought up a great point on his Thursday, March 5th post about the FB Birkie, USA Cycling and their “fat bike nationals” race a few weeks ago.
“The Fat Bike Birkie is being held on Saturday. They closed the field a couple weeks ago at 750 riders. Compare that to the 18 starters in the Elite Men’s Nationals a couple weeks ago in Ogden, or the 4 women starters and it makes you wonder how USAC decided to promote its own Nationals and not just award the National Championships to this event?”
That is an excellent question Steve. One can only assume because (from what I can tell) the FBB is not a USAC sanctioned event. Better to have 22 starters paying their USAC fees than 750 not paying it. It’s not about promoting the sport and getting people out racing it’s about the “business” of USAC. Since I don’t want to get drawn into more USAC talk, so I will just leave it at that.
Hoping for outside miles soon, I need it.
Later.
*EDIT: Turns out there’s NO way I could do the race anyway. Wifey is heading out of town for work Sunday and there is NO way I could have raced and drove back before she left. Good thing I didn’t pre-register!!