bridgepoint ride. TT to victory

I have not felt very good on the two evening group rides I did this week so I was not expecting to do much today, especially after staying up past 12 and drinking a bunch of beers.

But apparently that should be my prerace regimen because today I felt great. Rode to town and met two guys and we rode together over to bridgepoint to meet the group, another four guys. About 12 miles it made for a nice warm up.

We rode the usual loop that includes two sprints up to the top of highway overpasses. I took a long pull going down a stretch of highway into a headwind and felt very strong. Speed was only about 22, but into the headwind I felt good about it since I knew I was not working too hard.

We turned off the highway and short while later several people popped off when JE, a strong rider and a good (read: better than me), sprinter got to the front and ramped things up a bit. This was maybe two miles from the first overpass.

The group was down to 4 and rotating through a paceline until someone failed to come through. No one wanted to go and the group slowed behind the guy who just pulled off. Just to keep things interesting I decided to attack knowing that JE would come with me and the other two would get dropped. That is exactly what happened.

Now I have been trying (not very successfully) to figure out how to beat him in a sprint from a small group. Since he is faster and more experienced I dont have much of a chance. I knew that if we got to the overpass he would beat me almost certainly. So I tried something a bit different.

He took a decent pull and as soon as he came off I jumped. I got about a 20 yard gap and just started hammering away. I kept my HR at about 185 which was 25/26 miles per hour. This was all I figured I could do since it was still 1 mile to the overpass.

When he finally started closing on me I managed to bunp my HR up to 195 for the last few (maybe 2) minutes which is right at my limit. I felt like I was going to die, but he never caught me.

On the way home I was leading the group with a nice tailwind. We were doing a nice 28/29 mph and it felt easy. HR was 185 and I felt like I could go all day. Up a slight incline I maintained the same speed and saw my HR go over 190.

When that happens it is like someone flips a switch. I don't shut down, but I know it is coming. Is like a 2 minute warning and that last minute is going to hurt.

The ride was 40 miles, plus the 12 getting there, average was 20.5 mph, max was 33.4, average HR was 160, max HR - 195

And I rode the 12 miles home at about 14 mph. At home I drank a bunch of gatorade and took a nap on the kitchen floor. 3 hrs later and I am still beat down.

I wont be able to ride much if any next week because of annual inventory at work, so this may be the last fast ride for the season.

Time to put in some long slow days.

First ever TT

Did an 11 miles TT last weekend - first one ever. I was planning to start out at 80 - 85% of my MHR but I got a little anxious and my HR went up to 185. Felt okay so I settled in between 180 and 182 for the next nine miles (90% MHR) then cranked it up to 187 for the last two. I think this worked much better than worrying about my speed.

Missed the turn around because the cones were confusing and the official was no help, probably lost 10 - 15 sec. My seat came a little loose on the way back but it was okay just had to shift slightly off the nose.

Felt like I was going to throw up when I was done which was a good thing, didnt have anything left.

Ended up 3rd place in the sport division.

Time 28:20, 23.3 MPH, Avg HR 182, Max HR 193.

Beat a bunch of shiny Cervelos with this: