I want to do this:  2011 Tour de Canal  I sent an e-mail asking for more details.  When they say it is off road, are they saying that my mountain bike would be the appropriate bike to bring?  Would my brandy-new Surly with just a good set of tires on them be the bike to bring?  How hilly is the course?  If it's relatively flat then I'm really not all that worried about it.  I did 35 miles in Florida and then turned around and did 20 more the next day.  I'm in better shape now then I was then.  I meant to ask if I could do one of the 50 mile training rides before deciding if my crazy butt is really going to sign up for the 100 mile ride.

I really hate the thought of having to drive all the way up to DC just to do the qualifying test run, but I suppose I could probably spend the night at the William Penn House since being a Quaker and all - I know the people who run it.  No, I'm not kidding.  I should probably get a bike rack for my car.  Usually I just stuff my bike in the trunk. 

And, if you hadn't guessed from the first paragraph - I am the proud owner of a Surly Long Haul Trucker.  Alas, I can't actually have my Surly until Saturday because I'm having some modifications done to it - mustache handle bars most notably.  They had to order the mustache bars in, so no new bike until Saturday.  I got the 58cm frame because they said that with the mustache bars that I'd be seriously cramped riding a 56cm frame - which they would have otherwise recommended since I tend to like my seat a little low.  So, with the 58cm, if I'm standing over the top tube, there's maybe an inch between my crotch and the top tube.  I find that a little unnerving because I have hit the top tube before.  Not fun!