- Bad Idea Racing - HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

When I got back from the Tahoe Sierra 100 on September 8th or so I was pretty beat down from the Month of Mayhem.  I put “training” on the back burner for the most part.  The most I would do was an extra 15-30 minutes on the way to work, and that was about it.  Weekend rides were local and more fun oriented than fitness, and I was just looking to hold onto enough form so as to not die at the Double Dare.  Mission accomplished (sorta).

Now the “season” is behind me.  Swank 65 has been crossed off the list in favor of our local swap meet.  I did get an email about a 6hr race up in Chapel Hill, NC (2008 Heel of a Race) which I’ve tried to convince myself is a good idea.  I’m not sure I have the gas left in my tank for another race.  I long for a lackadaisical jaunt in the Pisgah National Forest with a few friends and a moderate route choice with some extended descending.  In short, fun for fun’s sake.

I’ve been thinking about what to do to keep myself preoccupied for the next four or five months.  There’s always the option of holding another Run Club.  That seemed to keep me from being too bored over the winter months last year.  I’ve considered signing up for the Uwharrie Mountain Run (the 20 miler not the 40), but paying $45 to do the most free, natural thing that you can do with your body (with your pants on)?   Maybe I could train for The Most Horrible Thing Ever?   Wait a second… that would mean getting up early and heading out into the cold darkness every morning during the time of year when I normally like to sleep in order to get ready for a race that I’m pretty sure I’d regret entering about one hour and five minutes into it???  Hmmmmm….

The sponsor thing should be hashed out over the coming months.  Two megalo industry giants are fighting over just who gets to associate their brand with Bad Idea Racing.  It’s gonna come down to who can score the most blow and assemble the best entourage to accompany me to next year’s events.  That’s how Tom Boonen stacks his priorities, right?  I was feeling a bit impatient at first, but this has been dragging on since August, so I’ve already had my panties in a wad, pulled them out, and wadded them back up again.  Now that I’m in the off season time stands still.  “Training” will be necessary commute time only, and riding will just be riding.  The blog will get more random and struggle to find something to fill your time.  Can there be enough in my head for a Smacktalkapalooza 2009?  Will I resort to interviews with local celebrities?  Could I sub my blog out to a ghost writer?  Should I get more photo biased and fill my pages with fuzzy fodder from my SD card?  Perhaps shut the blog down to a four day work week? 

This will be my third “off season” of blogging.  I must do my best to hold my resolve and blog, blog, blog away.  If I let my guard down I may not be considered for the Breck Epic blogger’s grant which is a huge portion of my plan to stretch my racing budget for 2009.  My application is up on the website as a fine example of what a perfect application should look like, so maybe most folks are intimidated by the level of writing on display.  Don’t forget people, there are FOUR SPOTS UP FOR GRABS, so after I get one there are still three spots left for the common bloggers to share.  Sure, if you win you are committing to thousands of words written exclusively for the Breck Epic’s site and perhaps some media exposure (Cat Fancy has dibs on my coverage), but look at the other advantages.  Each night while the other racers are sitting around relaxing after a hard day of stage racing you’ll get to stare at a blank screen trying to sum up your day’s experiences in an intelligible manner using 500 words (of which 25 have to begin with the letter Q).  They’ll be having their beers and taking showers while you’re working on your carpal tunnel syndrome.  They’ll be prepping their gear for tomorrow while you’re looking at a thesaurus trying to find another word for “tired”.  After the last stage they’ll be on the dance floor double fisting their Coor’s Light while your in the corner pecking at a lap top with your stiff fingers commanded by your sleep deprived brain.  Definitely a win/win/win scenario.  Stop being so boring and create a shiny image of yourself in the form of a complete application today.

Gratuitous boobs for everybody who fills one out.