Eugene Time Trial Series

So this posting is a tad out of order but long over do so here we go. For those in the know, last month was the Eugene Time Trial Series. The series format, four 15 mile TT every tuesday for a month, same time same place. The race course, a Swedish pancake flat loop featuring 2 turns just a few miles north of Eugene..

The Results:

- Week One

So I’m always nervous going into TT’s. Was Jack Frost a fluke? How should I pace myself for this course? How much should I be warming up? And why oh why did I forget my cytomax. The competition looked good, lots of big legs, disk wheels, and aero helmets. Rolling up to the line I had butter flies in my stomach, 3, 2,1, go! And I was off, I tapped the pedals, the Co-Motion responded like it was an extension of my leg and I was doing 29 mph. With the course being a tad more then 10 feet in length I thought it wise to dial it back a bit, so I settled down to a cruising pace and started to pull back my carrots. Going out there was a head wind but as long as it held it might make the trip back fun. Not being totally familiar with the course, the first corner felt a little long, the second came a little quicker, and then I was sailing with the wind doing well over 28 mph. Crossing the finish line this weeks results, 15 miles in 34 min 47 seconds, which turned out to be good enough for first in both the 4’s and the 3’s, placing me 4^th overall, not to shabby for week 1.

- Week Two

After the previous week’s results I was feeling a tad more comfortable with results. The plan this week, just do everything the same but better and let the bike take care of everything else. The catch, there always is a catch, the weather didn’t look good. The wind was shifting, and those dark clouds in the sky looked ominous. Back to the starting gate, and off the line, it felt good to know the course. The carrots this week were faster so I didn’t wasn’t catching quite as many, then it happened, those dark clouds in the sky just could hold back and on the way back the wind lashed out strike me in the face and the clouds poured down like a water fall. Coming in everything inside of me kept wanting to raise the white flag, I kept having to remind myself that I was TTing, that I needed to push it, the line came, and crossing it I knew my performance this week had been nowhere near as good as the previous.

Time: 35:32.00, 1st in the Cat 4’s, 6th overall, and almost a minute down from the previous weeks time.

- Week Three

Going into week three I felt kind of low, yeah the previous weeks weather was bad, but a nearly a minute down Kenneth? Were my first two times flukes of luck? This week I changed my warm up slightly, adjusting when I ate, what I ate, and I made a vow to control my pace off the line. The weather was better this week, no rain, but there was still a wind. Of the line, out, back, and across, I started early, and pulled in nearly all my carrots. Crossing the line I felt good almost too good, could I have gone harder, yeah maybe, thankfully there was still one more week to go..

Time: 34:21.00, 1st in the Cat 4’s, 6th overall.

- Week Four – Final week

With my victory in the cat 4’s nearly assured and just 3 days separating the final TT from the start of the Deschutes TT Fest, the plan for this race was to try out all the changes and modifications I was thinking about making for this weekends adventure. After attaching the new equipment, and going though a slightly more refined prep, I was back on the line and off. Off the line for the final time, I almost felt sad the series was going to be drawing to a close. But with the best weather of any of the weeks now was going to be the time to show my stuff, and the race seemed to progress well as the carrots popped back one by one. Crossing the line I felt good, but had it been enough?

Time: 34:12.00 (Fastest time of all three weeks), 1st in the Cat 4’s, 5th overall, and the Cat 4 series GC.