Not Quite Tough Enough

...for Pink Flamingo.

Today is Day 2 of the 2009 Pink Flamingo Classic endurance ride. Held in the forested mountains of Cascade, Idaho, it's a beautiful, challenging, and irrepressibly silly event. Last year, Aaruba and I earned the Bad Day Award -- a set of magenta polo wraps -- by getting lost on Day 1, then rallied on Day 2 to score 3rd Place Best Condition.


I'd hoped to make Pink Flamingo 2009 Consolation's first Limited Distance race, but it turns out that life circumstances conspired with my hamstring injury to ensure that she wouldn't be quite fit. So, I find myself following the event vicarious via Facebook updates from friends.

And riding, of course.

Consolation and I trotted a hilly 15 miles yesterday under a blazing sun tempered by intermittent breezes. Having run part of the same route earlier in the day, myself, I was pleased by how well she handled the rolling slopes -- particularly as she, unlike me, had to haul along a load of rider and tack.

Speaking of tack, I was again impressed by how well my Stonewall endurance saddle fits Consolation -- so well that I can ride with the cinch loose enough to slip my whole hand beneath it. The tree doesn't shift on mounting or dismounting, or on hills, though I do take the safety precaution of using a breastcollar, just in case.


Anyway, Pink Flamingo is a fantastic ride and it pains me to miss it. The good news is that I fully anticipate being ready to go for Old Selam at the beginning of September. Then, there's the Owyhee Canyonlands multi-day, followed by the new Owyhee Hallowed Weenies race on October 31.

Maybe I'll be a flamingo for Halloween.
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