It's time to admit defeat

Well, maybe not exactly defeat. In fact, let's label it "re-evaluating mid-term goals in light of schedule constraints", with a follow-up of "shifting activities to reflect new goals". That sounds much better than "I'm a big woos" and also shows that I didn't spend all that money on the MBA for nothing.

In short, I've decided to bail on the STP this year for the following reasons:

1. I'm waaaaaay behind on the training. By this weekend I was supposed to be riding 50 miles each day for the second week in a row. I haven't managed 50 miles yet, and while I came close yesterday (45 or so) only put in 25 today.
2. I started the training with a low level of fitness. After the 2006 Seattle Half-Marathon I basically took a vacation from exercise for, oh, a year. I went to the gym on occasion, but not regularly. I gained a bunch of weight. I became a slug. Slugs don't ride bicycles.
3. There are too many conflicts in upcoming weekends to stick to any kind of training program. Next weekend my mom's community has it's spring work party, and I'd like the kids to experience that kind of communal effort. The weekend after that I'm going camping / hiking with Logan's Scout troop. The weekend after that we're going to Wenatchee. Then there are other camp-outs, overnights, and conflicts.
4. Training while we're on our big road trip home from Wisconsin in late June/early July will be a logistical nightmare:
   
1. Getting the bike there on the train will require boxing it up.
2. I'll have to figure out how to pack the bike rack.
3. I'll be riding instead of driving and sight-seeing with the family.
4. As Paige pointed out, if I crash or something in the middle of BF Wyoming, how will the people who stumble across me know who to call?
5. And where will they take me?
5. Did I mention I'm a big woos?

So...I'm no longer in the market for a new bike, I don't think, since I can commute on my Mountain Bike and riding it 40 miles on the Haul Ash ride won't kill me. And now I can take the money I would have put into the road bike and use it for something really useful, like a new computer!