Ready to Stop Training

I completed my fourth century in as many weeks yesterday and it was, for God only knows what reason, a chrome plated son of a bitch. Early on I knew I was in for it- the going was slow and my legs were bitchin' the whole time. If I could have quit at 50 miles I probably would have. At 70 miles or so the wind started kicking up- not howling but enough to add a bit of misery to an already unpleasant day. By 85 miles, I could barely manage to keep my arse on the saddle. Man, I sometimes feel like I'm making no progress, particularly where my posterior is concerned. But I got a pretty good massage from Sherry last night and my legs feel almost human-like this morning- maybe there's hope?

Hope or not, I have had a gut full of training for this ride and want to get on with the main event. I am beginning to get concerned that after that ride is done, I may be completely burned out and may want to hang up the cleats. Joe thinks that I should start riding a mountain bike when I get home as a diversion- different muscles, different kind of riding. Hmmm... something to ponder and oh yeah- I'd have to buy a new bike. Very clever Joe.

I have less than two weeks to go before I fly to Portland and I am nearly ready to go physically and completely ready to go emotionally. Joe finished overhauling my Giant and it's riding sweet. Need a fresh set of tires (so I can really "shake and bake") and a few other odds and ends. I take the bike to Joe on Tuesday and it will be packed and shipped by Friday. I'm counting on UPS to do their thing- the bike should be in Astoria by the following Wednesday and I'll be a couple of days behind that. I'll start checking west coast weather soon to get some feel for what to expect- pray for tailwinds wouldja??

BTW, if anyone is reading this drivel, send me a comment. It would just entertain the crap outta me. If you are not reading this, please disregard.