Well it’s been a rough couple of weeks, what with the massacre at my alma mater, the deer, taxes, and work. None of them seem like such a big deal next to the first item on the list. I don’t know any of the people who lost their lives or their loved ones in the massacre, but with things like this, we all lose a little something. I’m not moving on from it yet. I still think about it a lot, but I am obviously going to keep on living my life, doing my best to live it well.
SO. Up until today, aside from one night last weekend when I woke up and worried about it in the wee hours of the morning, I’ve barely even thought of the Baker’s Dozen, the 13-hour mountain bike race I’m doing tomorrow as part of a 3 or 4 person relay team.
Now I’m nervous and excited. It’s basically self-supported, and due to the length and time of day, 10 AM to 11 PM, I need to have two complete meals plus snacks and beverages. I’ve never done a ride like this before so I’m nervous I’ll be underprepared for some aspect of the day, for example, gee, I really wish I’d brought a tent or a canopy to get me out of the sun. Then again, I also don’t want to bring so much crap I spend a lot of time setting it up and taking it down.
At least I don’t have to worry about trying to win the race — it looks like we’re going to be down to 3 people, since one of our team members didn’t manage to register before the event filled up. Also, I heard through the grapevine there’s a team of ringers that’s doing the race on cyclocross bikes. We’re just going out there to have a good time, and I know it’ll be fun!
I just learned this afternoon that Andrea wants to bring us dinner, which is really nice. It’ll be good to see her and the girls after a few laps of racing, and I bet it’ll be fun for Elizabeth to see what I do when I’m out riding my bike. Andrea’s also going to make me some home-made energy bars; very cool, so I won’t have to choke down multiple Clif bars in one day.
I’m taking my camera and a couple of good books I’ve been working on, as well as my bike repair stand and supplies, so I’ll have plenty to do between laps.
The fun doesn’t end on Saturday either — I’ve also signed up to do the 4th edition of the Best Dam Ride, a 60-80 mile ride around Clark’s Hill Lake. I just have to remind myself from the start of the Dam Ride to take it very easy. If I stick with an easy pace, the worst problem will probably be just that the sheer amount of saddle time in two days will exceed any two week period for me so far this year. Wish me luck!