The Hell of the Marianas
It is not often that I get an offer to race my bike in a warm, sunny place in December, but recently just such an offer came my way. In a few weeks time, I will fly to Guam and Saipan for the 4th edition of the annual Hell of the Marianas race. This is made possible by my athlete Joseph Husslein, whose fantastic fund-raising ride across America I wrote a bit about earlier:
By the way, there is still time to give and, this Friday, the Beacon Foundation will match any donations made to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guam dollar-for-dollar, DOUBLING the value of your pledge.
The preparation for HOM has meant a bit of sacrifice. This sacrifice has come in the form of
- Missing out on cyclocross
- Doing long, tough intervals in November in the rain
- Not indulging in my usual feast of autumn sweet treats
- Going to bed early, and...
- Not going Salsa dancing every weekend
Okay, the last one is not such a big sacrifice. However, while my friends are hanging around doing coffee rides, I'm training. I'm not complaining, though. It's an excellent race in a beautiful place and the field improves each year. I'll post updates here whenever I get near a computer.