Holy crap! Tour of the Unknown Coast is two weeks from today

Last year I completed my first Tour of the Unknown Coast, riding 100 miles in almost exactly 11 hours. It was a real challenge, but I trained hard in advance.

When 2008 started, I had grand plans. I was going train my ass off all winter long and take hours off last year’s TUC time. The hot-shot lycra people do the course in under six hours, so I was shooting for eight hours. That seemed like a realistic goal if I devoted myself to the cause.

The training never happened. There was rain, two bouts of Humboldt crud, more rain, some laziness and – most off all – the demands of my business. This newspaper is a cruel mistress.

My rides over the last couple months – not counting my commute miles – have consisted of mad dashes to the Trinidad area and back. Most rides have been about 20 miles, with a few 30 mile rides here and there. Most of these rides are relatively flat – not good considering that the TUC has nearly 10,000 feet in elevation gain.

So on May 10 – two weeks from today – I’ll be slowly huffing it over the 100 mile course with one simple goal – finish without using the sag wagon.

I plan to take a bunch of photos and enjoy the company of fellow bike nuts. Oh, and there's the food. Lots of food. Last year the food was delicious.