Two Wheel Blogs

Wow, this is fun. It has been way too long since I have raced, Perhaps I need to start doing this a bit more often!

I drove into St. Louis to visit Mark for a couple hours prior to going over to the TT course to set up for the event. As most probably know, this is a very basic event that is run very affordably yet it is lacking nothing in terms of fun and officiating.

A few signs and cones were placed to designate start area and turn around area, and volunteers worked the event like clockwork. In fact, the even was run far more smoothly than most other races I have been part of. While it could be said that there were only 30-something competitors, I think that the reason things went so smoothly had more to do with the friendly attitude of *everyone* (competitors, volunteers, and officials). I am sure it also helps that this event is run weekly, and everyone is probably in a good groove regarding how things ought to work.

Huge thanks to all who attended, volunteered, and officiated this event, it was a great time!

My Race
Let me start by saying, I had no earthly idea what to expect. I had never ridden the course and not ridden a TT in years (in any style, let alone Merckx style). Regardless, Mark estimated that I would probably run somewhere in the area of 23 minutes...so I figured anything under 25 would be grand. I had a sore muscle in my back and training/riding lately has been way off the mark. You might say I was not planning to do well, but knew it would be fun!

I lined up at the start as the second rider (starting one minute behind Justin). Justin is a ripping fast Cat. 1, so I had little chances of using him as a carrot...in fact I never saw him until he was traveling the opposite direction (we passed at exactly 1Km from the turn around point and his finish time was almost 5 minutes faster than me!). I was held upright at the start by a fellow racer who volunteered as a holder until he raced!. At 6:32 I took off to the sounds of cheers.

I brought my bike up to speed and leveled off at what I thought would be a sustainable pace. Things felt good until about 3 K into the race when my legs started to speak up, but my lungs were lounging around (a nice sign that I am pushing to much gear). I clicked down a gear and maintained pace. I soon settled into a rythm...kick, kick, exhale...kick, kick, exhale. Suddenly I recalled from my TT days that this was how I always rode/paced a TT! Though I usually had a PM to assist in those days!

I will not bore you with the details too much. I noticed the pain creeping back into everything (mainly legs) about 1.5 Km prior to turning around. This was about what I would have wanted had I planned for it. I knew that there would be headwind on the return trip, but I would have motivators to help me endured the added pain brought by the wind: You are over half way!, you are about to get caught by a guy on a real TT bike!, you should not be a pussy!, suck up the pain!, it will be over soon! At least those were some of the thought I can recall rattling around in my helmet.

I pre-rode the course, so I knew my markers for 2.5, 2.0, 1.5, and 1.0 Km to go. I hoped that I would have just a bit left in the tank to adjust my pace up at one of these points. I guessed pretty close to right because I only had enough left to pop the pace a marginal amount and cross the line at 22 minutes and 21 seconds.

I still am not sure if that is a good time or not compared to other riders of my ability, but it felt pretty good to me! I missed out on nothing in terms of that rush you get when you finish a race and know that you put in a good effort. It brought back memories of past races I participated in...and immediately I wanted to do it again...just may be not tonight.

If you like TTs, bike racing, or just an opportunity to push yourself to see what you can do in an all out effort for 10 miles, I highly recommend this race. It will not disappoint you!

Want full results? Go here.

Info on the weekly races here.