35:41 Fighting the Wind

Time trial experience #2! I looked forward to beating my first time of 32:35 this time out as I was feeling much stronger. With what I learned in my first attempt I thought that I could knock off at least a minute. I awoke Sunday morning to the sound of hammering wind outside and I was instantly discouraged! I have heard the horror stories of the windy Piru time trials and they flooded into my mind as I took the dogs out. When I left the house driving down my street was like being in a pinball game with downed tree limbs and debris everywhere!
Once I arrived to the canyon road it did not seem as bad as home! I enjoyed watching the elite athletes warm up on their TT bikes. They have a look of seriousness on their faces like this is the World Championships! It's kind of cool.
So as I rode down the course to warm up I realized that there was a HUGE tailwind at my back! This was verified when I turned around to head back and the wind blew into me like a Japanese Bullet Train! Holy smokes, this was going to be interesting!
I was third off and I hit it out of the gate. The course is a 12.2 mile out and back. The 6.1 miles out was extremely fast! Let's just say that I averaged over 30 mph and made the turn around in under 13 minutes! Then...the wind!
This is where I entered the pain cave. I had already passed one of the two that had started in front of me and I had the other in my sights. I used this as motivation considering it was a Fast Friday rider! As much as it hurt I pushed and pushed. I hammered up the little rollers and pushed hard without overdoing it. The 6.1 miles back felt like 20. Once I realized that I could catch the Fast Friday guy I pushed even harder. As I came within 10 yards of him a huge gust of wind pushed him right off the road! He managed to keep it upright and get back on but I quickly dropped him and smiled inside! That smile turned back to pain as I had about 3 km to go! I saw a couple pictures of me at this point and let's just say that they are not pretty! I knew that I had passed my time from the last race so that did not help either. I pushed through to the finish and then spun myself down the road.
I ended up 2nd in my category again! I missed 1st by only 4 seconds! Ughhh!
It took me 20 minutes to get back! Freaking crazy! I felt like I rode it so much better than last time which is what I know matters. I would love to give it a shot on a TT bike. Someday...
Great news to share! I was asked to join a team! Previously known as Team One Racing, they are renaming the team for this year. This is primarily a road racing team with a few of the guys racing mountain as well. I am super stoked to ride with these guys and look forward to learning a lot! I will of course keep you updated on the progress!
Peace,
Lucas