Colorado Last Chance 2010: WTF AM I Thinking?!?

Okay...I must admit that there's not a lot of things in life that really intimidate me. My list includes:

1) Spiders
2) Heights
3) Incredibly sexy women
4) Cleaning the grout in a mildew-laden shower

Well...I think I'm about ready to add a fifth item to my list: stupid-long bike rides!!! Next week's Colorado Last Chance (http://www.rmccrides.com/lastchance.htm), which runs from September 15-18, is only one of a handful of 1200km brevets that is being offered in the U.S. this year...and I was crazy enough to sign up for it! WTF am I thinking?!? 1200km.....for those who are not mathematically inclined, that's almost 750 miles!!! Almost 4 double centuries...back to back to back to back!!! The longest ride I've ever completed was a 400km (248 mile) brevet earlier this summer (which was actually part of a 600km brevet, which I ended up completing the last 200km the next day because of the intense heat and my inability to follow a cue sheet!)

Here's how I justify my stupidity:

1) Brevets, by definition, are not races...they are simply "timed events." Every rider earns the same credit for finishing (even if I am the last rider!)

2) I have 90 hours to complete this event...that's 3.75 days...which seems fairly reasonable...I think.....

3) I like challenges (???)

4) Successfully completing Last Chance will place me in the top registration group for Paris-Brest-Paris, the premier 1200km event in the world, which is only contested every 4 years. (Yes...I'm actually thinking about riding another one of these events!)

5) This event may mark a turning point in my cycling "career," giving me a glimmer of what it's like to compete some of the more prestigious (and longer) ultra cycling races in the world...Furnace Creek, Race Across Oregon, Fireweed, etc...

6) If I ride the damn thing fast enough, I can actually qualify for Race Across America (RAAM)! I must admit that it would be pretty cool to brag to my friends that I am "RAAM qualified!"


So I must admit that Last Chance is an opportunity to expand my cycling horizons...And as I'm cycling through the middle of Kansas, masochistically suffering after many hours on the bike, I'm sure I'll be clicking my heals together and saying to myself, "There's no place like home....."