Making A Last Minute Call

<===Will the Badger make the cut, or will it be.......???

Today is decision day. I have to make a call on which rig I'm riding for this weekends Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. It's a dilemma that is kind of half a pain and half "a nice problem to have" sort of deal.

The thing is, I have done the "repair" on the Badger, but I haven't had time to throw down a multi-hour ride on it. Well, until today, that is. There is the looming specter of a crank arm that has failed once that may come off again. I don't like that thought and being several miles from Guitar Ted Laboratories with no bail out plan isn't a thought I like to entertain today. The options?

I could take a swing at the ride this weekend on my Pofahl. Honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea. It's set up for this specific purpose- gravel grinding- it has , count 'em.....one, two, three, four, FIVE water bottle cages on it, meaning I wouldn't have to carry a back pack. The thing is, it's got four more water bottle cages than gears. This is an extremely hilly ride, and last time I tried the Pofahl, I about died on a less hilly route. Of course, that's what the ride is all about now, isn't it?

I had thoughts of riding my sweet El Mariachi, but it too ran aground with a crank arm issue. I fixed that, but again......same deal as the Badger. So, that option has fallen out of favor too. I do have last years veteran of the GTDRI on hand to ride. No issues with that rig. There is a strong possibility that this one might be the bike, but I'll defer to the Badger if things go well today. If they don't, or I just can't mentally shake the thoughts of crank arms falling off in the Tama County hills, I'll be riding this other rig. We'll see.

Like I said, nice problem to have, eh?



<=== The last bit of road the Badger saw in Tama County before the parts started to fly!

Whichever bike I choose, I think this ride will be pretty fun. I've been looking forward to this for awhile now and I will say that it comes at perfect time. I could stand a little vacation from the routine. Especially from the shop side of things, what with that other big ride about to start. That ride always bottlenecks the shop up at this time of the year.

Stay tuned! I'll have some sort of ride report for ya'all tomorrow concerning the choice of bike for this crazy ride of mine. Maybe even a picture or two.

Update: More info has been posted on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational this afternoon. Click the link to see the latest!