Now what? Post WRIAD post

Even before the deed was done I was thinking about what would be next.  WRIAD fulfilled my goal in doing a 100 miler dirt ride and took a lot of mental and physical investment to get there successfully.  So now what?

Not sure.

But before I go into that, some postmortem on WRIAD.

• It was not THAT hard.  OK, I am in very good shape, etc, but it was attainable.  This was not the Ruta de Espana, OK?
• I am glad I did not do it on the SS.  Besides the headwind, I think the hardtail aspect would have beaten me up more than my old back would have liked.  Would I do it on an SS?  Maybe, but I would want to be in even better fitness before I committed to that.
• It is fun to do crazy things like this, but this was a calculated crazy; driving 13 hours on little sleep, riding nearly 13 hours, then driving back the next day for 13 hours.  That was not lost on us as we were in the middle of it all, that nuttiness, but other than us not actually having BEEN there before, others had and we knew what to expect.
• I did my homework.  I read everything I could find on the White Rim and traveling over it by bike (WRIAD) in a day.  I knew the route and what it would take to travel it safely as far as water, food, etc.  Both of us had emergency shelters/bivys that were smaller than a good sized donut and would have kept us alive out there if we needed to overnight.
• FFW and I were not newcomers to this kind of thing.  We have been to the dance before.  We have over 50 years of combined cycling and mtn biking experience between us and we had done hard things before.  We knew our pace and what was sustainable.
• We were compatible both in temperament and ability.  We had trained together a bit and we knew that we could get along for a few days, that either one of us was someone that could be relied upon, and no one would be waiting for the other all day (unless something went awry physically..illness, etc)
• We had the right attitudes.  It was going to be hard.  It was going to be fun.  It was going to be an adventure.  It was going to be what it was and we would roll with that reality.  No whining allowed.

Now that is done, what is next?  Hmmmm?  Still not sure.  I certainly want to do more endurance stuff, both self organized and group events.  I think that a good bikepacking trip is the next focus though.  It needs to be over a couple of days and over a hundred miles.  I have been working on my kit the last year and I think i am nearly there.  I even bought a Ti cup the other day!

So I have the bike, the Lenzsport Lev 3.0.  I have the gear, the Carousel Design Works bags and shelters, bivys, etc.  I have the route, a multi day course in southern Utah.  I have a timeline in mind for this summer.  Now I just need to get at least one crazy guy to join me and the plans can come together.

After all, ya' got's ta have a goal!