today is the day

Of my first race of 08. Tonight, the Winter XC kicks off with a 20 lap ice crit on a lake in upstate Vermont. According to the promoter, the ice has too much traction right now so he's decided to flood the race surface with water to try to get a smooth, super slick surface for us to race on tonight. F'ing sick bastard. Hopefully my Nokian studdies are up to the challenge if not, maybe I should pack some knee and elbow pads for the inevitable smackdown. Maybe yesterday's fall was good training. (on that note, things seem to be ok for the most part. my ass is seriously bruised, my forearm hurts and my back is sore but all things considered it seems to be ok).

After the crit, I'll be hunkering down in the toaster for the night. Steve (bikeman dude and gas sharer) will either opt for the toaster or a tent. Sick son of a bitch. I thought sleeping in the car in Vermont in early February the night before a big race was a little crazy but to do that in a tent is certifiable.

Anyway, Saturday brings the 30 miler on snowmobile trails. Earlier in the week it looked like we were going to be blessed with nice, hard riding conditions because a rain band was supposed to roll through last night. Now, at least based on Maine's current weather, it looks like we'll be dealing with some fresh snow. If that is the case, that 4 hour race time could easily turn into 6+ hours of total suffering. This is going to be epic!