John Fraser Memorial 8-mile TT
May 2, 2009 – Maple Park, IL

Race#1
Masters 30+ – 4th – 17:58.95
294 watts – 25.9 MPH*

Race#2
Cat 4 – 2nd – 18:16.46
288 watts – 25.5 MPH

Race#3
Masters 30+ – 5th – 18:16.67
284 watts – 25.5 MPH

Finally, no rain and no snow! Two hundred cyclists showed up under sunny skies to  increase the population of Maple Park by 25% today. There would have been more, but this was a make-up date for the John Fraser Memorial TT that had originally been scheduled on April 7 and postponed due to snow. Thankfully, the residents of Maple Park were gracious enough to allow us to race on another date. Since the first two TTs of the year were held in miserable conditions, riders were anxious for “go fast” conditions.

I was looking forward to reving my motor a little higher too, because the course was only 8 miles.  It would be primarily out-and-back with a decent 10-15 MPH WNW wind on the return trip to help “separate the men from the boys.” My strategy was to give it enough to go 30-32 MPH on the way out, then try and push as hard as I could on the return trip. I also wanted to get in about 40K of racing, so I decided to race three times with about 20 minute in between each race.

I didn’t get a chance to really warm up, but  I knew the tailwind right from the start of my first race would help get my up to speed without overexerting myself. I decided to not get a hold for my first start, since I still wimp occasionally having someone holding me up by the seat of my bike. After the starting buzzer sounded, the surge of adrenaline jolted me awake. I thought I took it out too hard, but my post-race analysis showed I was at target pace.  The first four miles to the turnaround were a blast.  Putting out the wattage only seems easier when you’ve got a tailwind and you can feel that yourself going much faster.  In fact, I was probably too velocitized because I overshot the turnaround and was in a 54-14 gearing to start back into the wind.  Oops! I came to a near standstill before I dumped it back to the 42. That’s when reality set in.

There’s some cruel law of physics that states the force of wind you feel in the parking lot is never as strong as it is on the open road. Yep. Talk about killing your MPH. I put out the same wattage on the return trip, but it seemed to be twice the effort because of the wind. I wasn’t quite foaming at the mouth, but I was generating a liberal amount of spit and snot. I hit the line tired, but happy to have two more chances to race.

I stretched and rehyrdated for my second race.  I thought the 20 minutes would go by quickly, but it didn’t.  I just wanted to get back on the road. I went with a hold for my second race and it makes a big difference (~5 seconds).  I felt much stronger and was more warmed up.  My turnaround went better and I was actually “enjoying” the return trip into the wind (probably because I felt stronger than my first race). One thing I hadn’t noticed during my second race was that the wind had picked up.  This was one of the reasons the return trip of my second race was 10 seconds slower than my first even though the power output was the same.

My third race was no fun.  I was drooling, snotting, and drifting back and forth across the road the last 2 miles and thankfully had a couple of “rabbits” ahead of me. Amazingly, my times were less than a second apart between my last two races even though I felt my efforts were a world apart.

Overall, I was happy with my performances. My placings have been improving from last year, especially in relation to other racers I compete against.  The worst thing is the second-guessing that comes later in the day after you digest the results.  When you miss first place by just a few seconds, you start overanalyzing.  What if I hadn’t blown the turnaround?  Could I have pushed it more into the wind?  Should I have gone with the H3C instead of the Stinger 9?  Hmmm.  Actually, this is one case where my second-guessing was right–I should have gone with the H3C!

I had just gotten my new Hed Stinger 9 on Friday and was excited. to use it.  Oops…that was my first mistake  It would have been the perfect wheel had the wind not been as strong. I should have consulted the awesome Apparent Wind Calculator and Aerodynamics Profiles on hedcycling.com.  They would have told me to stick with the Hed H3C.  Oh, well, it was an incredible wheel to ride! It was very easy to handle in the crosswinds and I was amazed at it’s stiffness accelerating off the starting line. Having the Stinger 9 and H3C is dream wheel combo and gives me the right weapon for just about any wind conditions. Next time, I just need to plan with my brain not my emotions…:)

In closing, ABD deserves a thank you for taking the effort to reschedule the race.  They put on another great event and always make sure there are tons of volunteers.  Without their effort, I wouldn’t have had the chance to enjoy a triple pain play!