I decided to wear my Cycling Saddlemen kit for the race because it was a little cold at 15c and it has a good fit right now (in other words, my skinsuit is just a little too tight and bulgy for my likes).
I also decided to ride in again to the race figuring I would get a nice warmup. Well, because I was riding with the wind, it was a quick 10 minutes or so to get to the race course out in what we locals call 'the county.' I took what I thought was going to be a quick lap around the course, and it was until I turned into that wind. I looked down at my computer and saw that I was going a mere 21kph....and I was huffing and puffing to do that.
I took a few pictures before the race not really knowing whether there would be anyone doing so from the sidelines. There wasn't really any spectators but there were a lot of volunteers marshalling the corners and doing lots of cheering.
We all had to sign in at the start and had numbers pinned. I was already regretting coming to the race because of the wind. I was thinking that everyone should have to have an extra 10 kilos strapped onto their body to make it fair!!!! Oh well, I resolved at that point to even punish myself more at the gym. And, I was using this race to decide whether I will race at the Willow Time Trial next Saturday.
I moved into the starting area as my start time was seventh. Manny was doing the starts and holding the riders and I had to ask if he was okay holding me. Well, he did a great job at the start and, except for an unexpected chain slip on the cassette, I had a good start into that nasty wind. So, by the time I got to the first turn, which was out of the wind, I wanted to go the other way and just ride home. Well, that battle continued for the entire race, 4 laps in total. Struggle through the wind and use self-talk to keep cadence high and stay in the race. But, when I turned and the wind was behind me, I didn't have the legs to get past about 44kph--no way to get a good average speed or good time when I was struggling to hit 26-28kph into the wind. So, by the last lap, I had to keep telling myself that everyone was hurting just as bad, and the 2 guys that passed me were professionals anyhow so what could I expect....
I suppose overall I did fairly well. I placed 17th in the race but I was disappointed in my results. It was a 25km race and it took me a whopping 47 minutes to finish. I was shooting for 40 minutes but knew when I completed the first lap that it was not going to happen. I managed to average 31.5kph for the race and haven't been that slow on a time trial, even one with large hills, for over 2 years. Well, we can blame it on the wind but I couldn't stay on the bars for even an entire lap, I just didn't have the strength in my arms or shoulders to last there and stay aero for the race. Some people have asked if the broken clavicle was giving me problems but the answer is no, I just didn't have the necessary strength to stay in the A position for the race. I have to say that it sucks to be battling a loss of strength and additional weight when the season has already started...
And the kicker was that I had to ride home, after being disappointed, with that nasty headwind.
more images by Blak Lite Karbon
Full results at: Blak Lite Karbon