I signed up for the Wildernes 101 today, so I suppose I shall be “racing” come 26 July. I intend to treat this like an off-road brevet, and my goal at this point will be to finish in under eleven hours. I will spend the next two months considering any upgrades to the Monocog. Many folks seem to think that riding a rigid bike is, well, stupid, but plenty of folks (among them, two locals who I know) have finished, and done quite well, on rigid singlespeeds. I am, however, seriously considering upgrading the brakes to mechanical discs. I will also likely purchase a set of stubby bar ends for all that climbing. I would really like to get a Titec H-bar, but they are not currently available with a 31.8mm clamp diameter, and that’s the size of my stem. Oh well.

Related, I seem to have lost my motivation to race at the Oval on Tuesdays. It is a combination of sheer lack of motivation (who wants to ride in a circle for 30 minutes?) and a lack of confidence to mix it with other racers. Also, given my ride in Princeton, I feel like I’m a bit better suited to longer events rather than short, fast races. That said, getting my butt kicked a few times a month will no doubt be good training for the longer rides.

Posted on 30 April 2008