Time Trials

Last night at cycling class John decided we were going to have a Time Trial.  Last week we rode 2 laps of the route so that we were all familiar with it.  So last night was when we were going for time.

We rode up and back Race Rd for a warm up.  It was a nice easy ride out and some bursts of power on the way back to get our legs ready to go hard.

So in 30 second intervals, one by one, we started.  John decided the order and put the slower riders in the front and the faster riders in the back.  He called my name towards the middle but then put a fast rider directly behind me.  As I waited for my turn, my heart was pounding.  I don't know why I was so nervous but I was.

I started and tried to get a good cadence going before hitting the hill.  As I started the climb, a large pickup truck pulling a trailer came up behind me.  Because the hill curves as it ascends, he was unable to pass me.  Let me tell you how distracting it is to have this diesel truck chugging directly behind you as you struggle to get up a hill!  I made it up the bottom half of the hill pretty well and hit a good cadence on the false flat area.  It was at that point when the truck passed me and I was so happy.

I could see the rider in front of me so I kept looking up to gauge my distance from her.  The top half of the hill was hard but I kept trying to power through it.  I ran out of gears and just tried to keep going to the top.  As I crested the hill, I shifted down and tried to make up the ground that I had lost on the rider in front of me. 

I hit the circle at a good cadence and was feeling pretty confident about closing the gap between us.  Unfortunately it was that moment when the fast rider who started behind me caught and passed me.  She blew by like I was standing still.  I just shook my head and kept on pedaling.  The fast rider passed the rider in front of me as well.

I was gaining some good speed and the gap between me and the rider in front of me was slowly closing.  I hit the end of Race Rd and really poured it on.  Well, in reality it was just marginally increasing my speed but at that point it felt like I was pouring it on. Because we ride Race Rd so often, I know almost every turn and bump in the road.  I know exactly when to drop to a harder gear and when to go to an easier gear.  I took every advantage of this knowledge. 

By the finish line, I was about 3 bike lengths behind the rider in front of me.  Considering the course is roughly 5 miles, I had almost made up the 30 second difference between us.  I haven't seen the email from John yet with our overall results, but I know that I gave it everything I had.  And it's a starting point.  Let's see where I am at the end of the class!