The Backward Slide

One on the many time proven peculiarities of my personality is the ability to pass judgement against myself and then do everything in my power to prove myself wrong (and therefore be wrong in the end, no matter what the result).

Case in point:  My upcoming trip to Europe. 

Somewhere during the return trip from Arkansas, likely nestled somewhere between conversations about Corey's swollen knees and D St's EW(TBD) rides, we realized that the next event on our shared horizon is TransIowa.  

Unfortunately, my lead up to gravel's longest day includes a week spent in Europe for work and, at least during the pessimistic post-script to Ouachita, therefore a week without mileage.  Last year it was illness, this year, I had decided, would be travel which colluded to damper the day.

Never mind the joy of travel or the fact I will be going to the Amstel Gold race.  Let's just focus on the fact that riding miles will go to hell, shall we?

Of course, like with any largely fictitious problem, the solution was already being put into place as I enumerated the "problems."  And, as I was typing this in fact, helpful souls were already extending a hand.  

Hopefully, the mileage will stay intact, the blog will highlight pictures from the English countryside and I can suppress the number of challenges I invent to get in my way.  

Riding ~350 miles of gravel should be challenge enough.