Surprise!

Holy shit!

So, I was super disappointed after dropping out of the Pierre's Hole 100 as a result of the diarrhea fiasco.  I felt better physically after sleeping away the rest of the weekend (and going to see The Dark Knight Rises with Erica on Sunday afternoon,) but taking myself out of contention for the NUE Series singlespeed competition really bummed me out.

And then this arrived in my inbox:

 

You better ride even faster than that in the Hampshire 100 if you are going to beat Gerry Flug!

Yup, that's right.....YOU ARE GOING TO NEW HAMPSHIRE!!!! 

We know how disappointed you were about Pierre's Hole so we want to help you get to another race!   All the details are taken care of, including lodging at Nils' parents house just 30 miles from the race.   All you have to do is get on a plane and pack your bike shoes.  (Oh, and minor detail....you have to pack up your bike for UPS but I'll fill you in on all the specifics).

Keep eating baby....you have a big race ahead of you!  We love you and are so proud of you.
Love,
Erica, Tom, Sheri, and Nils!  (And Mary and Blue too).

What???  I mean, I was there when our friend Amanda mentioned that the NUE had added a race in New Hampshire this year that would fit into my schedule, but I figured there was no way that it was going to happen.

SO STOKED!!!

I clearly underestimated Erica's appreciation for my drive to race, and her conniving motivation to make it happen for me!  And my parents and Nils and Mary...  Damn, how can I thank them enough???

So how did I celebrate my return to series competition?  I went to work.

No, that was BEFORE I celebrated by going for a smokin' hot ride on Teton Pass.  (Not that I was all that fast; it was just really hot and smoky.  There's a big fire burning outside of Stanley, and we're right in the path of its plume.)  What better way to prepare for a race with relatively little climbing than to ride the steepest grade around?

Now I'm all a-quiver with anticipation about this whole thing.  I've never flown anywhere to race my bike.  Hell, I haven't been east of the Mississippi since a family reunion on Cape Cod when I was 13.  (23 years ago!)  So many logistics zipping around my brain.  Fortunately Erica has taken care of the really hard ones.  What a wife!

Apparently I just have to ship my bike and pack my shoes and it will all be awesome.

Live free or die...