Decisions decisions decisions!

I’ve made a decision….I think.

I’m going to do Buckmeadows 50 miler the second week of April.

A lot of thought went into this decision – in fact, more agonizing over my choices than usual.

At first I was positive I was doing the American River 50 or 75. I really want to go back and conquer this ride – my first endurance ride and “face down the demons” so-to-speak. But it’s a hard ride. A very hard ride. Farley just finished a 100 and has a 3 day multi planned in May. I still consider her new to endurance and really don’t want to burn her out…..

So then I decided Buckmeadows would be better. Especially since it offered a new, 75 mile distance!!! I really really really love the rides longer than 50 miles.

But the last couple days I’ve been thinking about my gut feeling….and my gut says that it’s too soon for a 75, especially when I consider that there would be 2 very difficult rides coming in up the next 3 months after the 75 – a 3 day 50 and then Tevis.

I’ve learned to listen to my gut.

So then I considered not doing a ride at all in April. Especially if I would just be doing the 50…I don’t need the ride in order to finish the remaining 3 rides that really matter to me – Wild west, Tevis, and Virginia city. Farley will possibly be going to her first reenactment (complete with cannon fire…) in mid-April, and I have a dressage show planned in May so we’ll be doing quite a bit of schooling in April. I don’t need Buckmeadows to motivate me to get into the saddle right now.

But then I changed my mind again, and now I’m convinced that I WILL do a slow 50 at Buckmeadows, and here’s why:

1. It’s a very doable 50. Trust me. It was the only REAL 50 Minx every completed. I’m not going into details, but for various reasons, her other (2) completions were almost certainly on shortened courses.
2. This ride needs my support. It’s a smaller ride, unlike AR, and I feel like my going or not makes a real difference. I really enjoy the people who manage this ride, and want this ride to succeed.
3. A slow 50 will let me know how Farley is doing – whether or not there is any NQR-ness as a result of the 100 that doesn’t show up with lesser work, but that I need to know about before tackling Wild west or Tevis.
4. My gut feels good about going to this ride. Not going to a ride at all between 20 MT and WW makes me nervous. I think it REALLY would have helped my Tevis ride last year if had been able to attend another 50 in the spring. I won’t do a ride between WW and Tevis, so if I do one, it needs to be in April.