Kick in the....

Seems as if each Spring,  I get the same subtle little kick in the butt.  Something that lets me know " hey,  you have a bike in the garage"  (OK,  OK,  maybe something more like what "normal" people would call a PILE of bikes....) and "maybe you should ride it".     Ah,  spring in Colorado.  To Dirty for powder,  and too snowy for dirt.  

Once in the deep dark past,  I would have already had my "base" miles in,  and been hitting up things like the Boulder-Roubaix for "fun" this time of year.   But that was long ago,  before I realized that riding road bikes makes baby Jesus cry.     My recent return to "competitive" cycling via the sick and twisted world that is cross had me briefly thinking I should do a dirt road race this spring.  Well,  at least up till my rational brain realized I had not turned a pedal in any kind of anger since mid-December,  and all those rodies I've been making fun of driving back from skiing in snowstorms were out "training" in that snow,  and are probably able to drop me before I could get clipped in right now.  Guess I'll stick to watching one of my old guy heros do it on the web instead.

So,  back to that "kick"......
Back earlier this week,  I signed up for an "endurance" mountain bike race.  Something made me decide that 111K of off road racing would be fun this summer.  I had heard great things about the Laramie Enduro for years from many of my friends,  and decided to join the party.  So,  since I had the required equipment for endurance racing (A VERY high speed internet connection,  and the ability to sign up for races at very specific times...),   I leveraged my training from Nationals and braved the sign up scrum at high noon an April 1st. (Hmmm,  the date alone might be a hint...).   800 people end up signing up for 400 slots in 10 minutes.  Who ever knew that extended self-torture was quite so popular?

Well,  after feeling like I was trying to get Hannah Montana tickets,  instead of signing up to race my bike,   I suddenly realized that I was on the hook for a LONG race later this summer,  and maybe it was time to start riding a bit.   That kick led me to think that if I want to ride 70+ miles in July,  maybe a 50 miler in May would be a "good Idea".  So THEN I signed up for the "Front Range Sensory Depravation,  many laps about a suburban park in the goatheds" race,  otherwise known as the Front Range 50.  I had done that race 2 years ago,  with almost no training, and as it turns out,  a load of "Bad Blood" on board.  While I vaguely remember that experience as being not really that much fun,  apparently,  it did not scar me enough to prevent my mouse finger from clicking willy-nilly away.

So,  there you have it.  Jump straight from skiing a bit,  hanging out at home or in establishments that brew & sell malted grain beverages,  right to 2 ugly races.  Seem to have messed up my spring with 2 clicks of a mouse.   What have I done?  Better start riding.  Might even have to make someone cry a bit,  what with only 34 days to get ready for 50 miles.

Sanity was saved from all that angst today by getting the tandem out.  Heil ranch was actually pretty nice.  almost tacky,  and not too muddy.  at least you can MTB in the howling wind,  without wanting to kill anyone for no reason.  ALso hear that Picture Rock is almost dry,  so maybe I can do my long rides on dirt.  hope we're done with the wet front range snow for the sake of my mental well-being.

Here we go.  should be "fun"