Packed my stuff for chico today and head out wednesday after work. Been watching the weather and it looks like I might just be racing in the rain. Yay. Just hope it holds off for the Road race on Saturday. Really don't want to hit the dirt and have it be mud.

how do they do in warm rain tho

Shouldn’t be muddy. It’s a pretty coarse gravel and most of the finer sediment will be cleared out by the rain rolling through early this week. Just avoid puddles in the mile before the gravel, that stretch is a pinch flat pothole minefield.

Good luck. My brother lives in Chico so I've always wanted to race there, but as of yet the stars haven't aligned yet for that to happen. It being a Masters 4/5 made it kind of appealing for a below average Cat 4 (yes, I know I'm opening myself up for criticism here), but that's incentive is gone (and on the whole I think a Masters 3/4 is better) but I still hope to line up next year.

That dirt always concerns me because everyone I've talked to that's raced it has always had near misses there.

As mentioned, I moved into a new office building. We have one refrigerator in the break area - it's not a room, it's an area.

It's your basic, home refrigerator, which is pretty poorly designed for a communal work place. The draws and shelve spacing is not accommodating to storing a lot of lunches. Which got me thinking, why hasn't big refrigerator jumped on this? It seems like there has to be a large enough market for fridges designed to hold lunches and condiments.

Also, why is it refrigerator when spelled out, but the fridge when abbreviated?

https://www.bikeforums.net/data:imag...AASUVORK5CYII=
1920s: abbreviation, probably influenced by the proprietary name Frigidaire .

It may sound cruel, but we're going to send our 14 year old Dalmatian to the vet to and have him put down. A concern we have is the vet will try to do whatever to keep him around (I guess that's her job). Our other dog cost us $7,000 and the end result was putting her down that week. He's so far gone; I have to carry all 75 lbs of him twice a night outside to go pee, because he can't stand on his own and the poor guy is moaning all night in constant pain. If there's something fairly cheap that keeps him around I'm okay with it, so we'll see.

Sorry to hear it, that's rough :( FWIW sounds like you're doing the right thing to me.

rough stuff FF. I bet he lived a good life!

I'm sorry FF. I've been mentally preparing myself for the day I have to put my dog down, though I don't think I'll ever really be ready.

Having a pet put down is really hard, but it isn't cruel. It's the right thing to do in many situations.

And if your vet seems like their job is to do whatever possible to keep them alive forever, they're not a very good vet.

You and your pet know when it's time.

Sorry, FF.

Ah, so tough! We had to put our dalmation mix to sleep a few years back due to complications from valley fever. Our vet didn't try to talk us out of it, and in fact, we just had the same convo the other day when she checked out our 15 year old dog. She sad she would have no problem telling us when she felt that we were holding onto him for too long and she did mention that one of the signs that a dog is ready to go is when they can't go potty unassisted.

Goodnight sweet prince (left).

https://imageshack.com/a/img537/5199/0tyK7Z.jpg

14 years for a Dalmation Lab Mix is a long time. I probably ran over 1,000 miles with that dog, useless for protection and not the nicest dog, but he was a good dog.

Sounds like you did the right thing. My condolences all the same. Sounds like a great 14 years though.

Sorry about the dog, man. I lost both of my childhood dogs in the last two years to having to be put down. They'd both been on the verge for so long leading up to it, but it doesn't make it easier. A quote I found online that helped. "A dog may only be a part of our life for a short time, but we're their whole life to them." Know you gave him a good home and life he was happy with.

Watched a few videos and read some race reports.. That seems to be the consensus, if I can get towards the front by the gravel, that's not the issue. It the lead in and the rollers afterwards.

Otherwise, I'm excited. Checking out of work early tomorrow to get an easy spin in, then get in the car to drive half way across Nevada and find a walmart to sleep at.

Gravel is NBD if you have ever been on a MTB or raced cross. (I know you have.) It is tame. A bit of moisture probably helps things.

A tip for the couple miles prior to the gravel: the center line disappears so enforcing the center line rule becomes harder or impossible. Use that wisely.

Personally I found that people got strung out in 2 lines in the gravel but if you wanted you could just ride right up the middle.

Watch the wind direction. Sometimes the stretch of road after the gravel (after you turn right) can be super hard if there are cross winds.

Have fun!

PS not much on 80 until you get to Reno....I’ve always powered through. Some of those spots are sketchy along the way.

I thought I knew pain from clavicle breaks and bone crepitus, and those were not great, but they are nothing compared to the white-hot star of pain residing in my tooth that is very unhappy. Had a crown put in a couple weeks ago and thought all was well, but last Thursday it starting aching, was pretty painful during the race Sunday.

Visited the dentist Monday and they made some adjustment to the bite to see if it would calm down. Debilitating pain Tuesday, same thing. More adjustments and advised to give it another day. It's now 3:30am Wednesday, I've been awake for hours. Tramadol, Ibuprofen and enough thc edibles that my face is numb but I can still feel the tooth.

Jesus christ. I've never had a root canal, but I will get one tomorrow.

This sentence is amazing: Design and implement intervention design and implementation.

Seems like they should have known the root canal was needed when they did the crown. I have had plenty of experience with dentists, some good and some bad. They are definitely not all the same.

To me, the worst part of a root canal is just how long it takes. I have had 4 of them including a do-over from one of the less competent dentists. Good luck.

That hurts my brain.

Yeah, I take some heart in that he really believes I do not need a root canal and that the pain was caused by the bite being high on the crown, something which I couldn't really feel while numbed at the install.

The two weeks of temporary crown weren't bad at all, so the nerve was OK then. The crown went in and after a day or two it felt fine, so the nerve was OK then. Then it started building...

Last night was agony, but this morning it feels like a 4/10 without the sharp sharp pains so the plan is to take a **** ton of advil and see if it's actually improving but there is, again, some hope.

They’ve had the start finish is a couple different locations and will be using Paskenta as the start with the finish about a mile before town. This puts the end of the gravel about 3.5 miles from the finish. When you come out of the gravel, there aren’t really any rollers. There is a single 3% 1 mile climb, a quick descent, then some flat ground to the finish.

Like teton mentioned, the ride out of Paskenta can be rough if there is a crosswind. Expect a lot of guttering against the shoulder or centerline and the motorefs are pretty vigilant on that stretch. You’re doing two laps, so you’ll get a feel for it all the first run through.