I know I haven’t posted for a while, but ever since I got home from my fouled trip to Arkansas, nothing has really been happening. I had a tough training weekend- I kept up with the Trinity ride on Saturday (until near the end when Ryan dropped me), which, even though a lot of the fast guys were “missing,” resulted in post-ride exhaustion (for those of you who use Training Peaks- TSS was 203.3 for the ~3hr ride).
Sunday, Ryan and I rode to the Outdoors ride and split off from the group to ride home across northern Shelby County instead of going back through town like usual. Taking the back roads meant no stoplights & little traffic, so we were able to keep the pace steady the entire way home. We ended up with 80 miles for the day, and I was beat! (Once again, for Training Peaks lovers, TSS was 279.1)

So that was my way of welcoming myself back to Memphis. I’m trying to be ready for the Fool’s Gold race on August 15th. I chickened out on the 100 and emailed the promoter telling him to move me to the 50 mile race. I haven’t trained enough to feel comfortable trying to ride that far through wilderness. Attempting a 12 hour on an “easier” course where the car/pits are no more than a mile or two away is one thing… trying to ride two 50 mile loops in the mountains of North Georgia is another animal. I’ve got to get my isht together and do some serious training before the endurance season starts back in full swing next year. I need to be fit on my MTB, too.

Today is rainy and dreary. I’m heading up to the Honda dealership in a few hours to possibly purchase a new Element. I’ll be trading the Fit. It’s been a nice car, but I’ll be getting rid of my car payment and getting something with more space (not complaining that the Fit wasn’t enough, because lord knows I could pack a LOT of stuff in there). I test drove an Element the other day- it was like driving a toaster. I’ll miss the awesome handling and insane MPG of the Fit, but other benefits of the Element win out. It’s got rubber flooring and for garsh sakes! I’ll post some pics once it’s in the driveway.