Oh Heck! I'm In

After four months of waiting, I finally made it to the top of the wait list and got the invite to participate in the Heck of the North, a hundred mile gravel race on the roads north of Duluth.
Had I gotten the email 9 days earlier I probably would have turned it down. Once I finished my first century last weekend, I didn't want nor need to participate in the Heck. I did of course change my mind the next day. It's amazing how just 1 day of rest can change the way you feel.
Even though it's called a race, I'm just going to consider it a ride (I'm kinda slow). The only thing I'll be racing is sunset.
I'll be riding my Trucker. It's a really good all purpose bike. All I really need to do is pull off the racks and fenders and strap on my handlebar and seat bags and I'm set. 
I plan on riding about half of the route (or at least the roads that I think are on the route) Saturday. I may still bale on the race if I don't think can ride fast enough on gravel to finish in about 8 hours. I'm pretty comfortable on hard packed dirt, but loose gravel (especially going downhill) causes me to be a bit skittish. I'll most likely post an update Sunday on how that ride went and whether I decide to stay in the race.