St. Peter Time Trial
I woke up early for a 5K run happening in St. Peter. I wasn’t running, mind you, but providing bike escort for the lead pack of runners to make sure they stayed on course. The day before the promoter of the run, Gustavus’ nordic ski coach, drove me around the course. I took good notes and brought them with me the next morning. I was glad I did because the course had lots of turns and I’d hate to be responsible for leading someone off course. After the 5K, I rode up to the start of the 40K time trial to finish my warm-up. It was a nice change to be able to race so close to home and I was motivated for a good ride. The weather was a little dreary but I started on dry roads.
40K time trials are one of the toughest events I know. The effort is a challenge both physically and mentally. You ride as hard as you can with only your own thoughts. There is no drafting, no respite, no one to tell you to push harder or back off for fear of blowing up. The effort is usually just under an hour an hour but it seems like an eternity. I play tricks to keep me going: 10 pedal strokes on the right as hard as I can. Switch repeat. Then I try 20 pedal stroke on the outside of my pedals as hard as I can. Switch repeat. I use the edge of the road or the center to find the smoothest pavement. I’ll slide over closest to the trees in the cross wind, drift back to milk a little tailwind. Catching riders is good motivation but the temptation to draft for a moment is hard to resist. I crossed the line in 51: 49 seconds for an average speed of 28.75 mph. This was a new PR for me. There are many, many things I love about cycling but one of the best is still being able to improve at 42. I won the 35 plus division and had the second fastest time of the day. Ian Standford (GrandStay) won by just over a minute. Ian is a true specialist and was riding the new Trek concept TT bike that Lance will be using in the Tour. Ian is one of the test riders for Trek or HeD. Yes, he’s that good.
After the race Ben, Jess and I went to the St. Peter Food Co-op and had a nice long lunch as the rain rolled in. Complete results here: http://mcf.net/index.php/results?view=event&layout=results&eventKey=210
