I thought of several different titles for this post… but the one I chose sums it up the best.

I won’t be riding the Peaks View Race on the Raleigh XXIX Rigid Singlespeed.

I just won’t be ready.

As a recap for those that haven’t been keeping up…

I haven’t been getting much riding in this season due to me recently becoming a proud papa. A couple weeks ago my wife agreed to give me up for some training time so I could get ready for the race. I have been riding rigid singlespeed all season so I figured I would go for racing one. I did some training rides before I headed over to train at Peaks View and as soon as I started riding the race course I knew I was in trouble.

Last year I finished the race (the one race a year I do) in 11th place in the beginner category with a course time of 58 minutes and some change. My goal was to at least match that time on the SS. So I timed myself on two rides of the course and both came in around 70 minutes. So yesterday I decided to ride like I was racing and see how fast I could go. I was maintaining around what I would need to match my time from last year but about halfway through the course I just couldn’t do it anymore. My upper and lower body were both maxed out. Lower body from pedaling the SS and upper body from being beat to heck on the rigid frame.

Today my back is jacked up and I feel extremely lethargic.

Yes… I am out of shape and Yes… I’m a wimp. But I have no desire to enter the race if it’s gonna be utter misery followed by a last place finishing.

So I’m switching my ride to the newly built Carver 69er. Rockshox Reba forks and full SRAM drivetrain. I’ll be doing the rest of my training on this bike.

Don’t get me wrong… my days on my rigid singlespeeds are definitely not over. I love the ride and they’ll continue to by my ride of choice… when I’m not in a hurry.

So all you hardcores out there… am I making the right decision?