Velochallenge

Pain is the name of the game when it comes to Time Trials. So I decided to volunteer my legs to my 4/5 teammates and head down toward Corvallis for the OBRA Team Time Trail Championships.

The team component is a huge challenge with learning to ride cleanly with no brakes in a pace line, signaling, pacing efficiently and effectively. These items are key things we worked on, but with only one practice run two days prior to the race, not much improvement could be made. But, team time trialling is a discipline which requires a lot work and time comment to be effective. Even though the four of us were under-prepared our main goal was to have fun and enjoy the race.

On race day, we meet up at the staging area in Tagent early since both Jay and Alex’s had sons racing in the Junior race. So while the two dads assisted their kids, I set up my trainer to warm-up. We were scheduled as the 1st 4/5 team to go out of 11, going off at 12:46pm. Each team thereafter would start in one-minute intervals.

Walking around the parking lot gave you a good idea who the dedicated Time Trialist (TTs) were….all the latest go-fast gear was on display as people unloaded their cars and set up their warm-up areas.

After a nice spin, the four of us headed down the road to practice our time trialling abilities and get use to signaling and pacing. After this second practice it was time for the group to head to the start.

The course was 4 loops with our main goal to settle into a nice pace and try to maintain 23-24 mph. Then build speed in the fourth loop and finish with whatever we had left. If all went according to plan, we would end up with a low 23 mph average for the race and a respectable time.

We started off according to plan, each taking 20-30 pedal stroke pulls. Our main powerhouse, John, would stay a bit longer in the front so the rest of us good recover for awhile.….I ended up staying out to long on my pulls! As a consequence there was no way I was going to make it to fourth lap at our current pace. We got passed by a couple teams, a few let us know they were there others lets us know when the leader pulled out to move to the back and almost ran into us. The overall winning team won by nearly 4 secs from second place. Guess that happens when you do nothing but Time Trials! The one team that was absolutely flying and won the whole TTT was the Master men 160-199 ZTeam who had a nasty spill at the end and I wish them a quick recovery.

Long story short, the race was a learning experience….I certainly learned that preparation for the event is key. Even though I pulled off at lap three (what happens when you ride once a week and have a baby!) I could see and feel what areas I really need help in improving my cycling strength and fit and work into my over training.