Couple'a Race Reports

I actually have been racing lately. It's been really good and really fun overall. I am having a good season this year.

Calavares TT

This was a new TT this year, and I decided to check it out, since it is so close to home. I did not pre-ride the course, but knew the general area. A teammate, Marcia, was kind enough to recon and provide some info. Basically, it was a stair-stepping out-and-back, with a little kick of .9 miles at the end of the out - about a 4-5% grade. I did the course in 31:49, which was a 45 second improvement over the same distance at Kern. Also, the hill was longer, though less steep. So, I felt good about the race. I was still a bit knackered from Kern, but felt like it was a strong race.

Dunlap TT

I've done this race, previously. However, the course was changed up from two years ago, so I didn't really know what to expect other than it would be pretty much completely flat. It is a 30km course, so a bit longer than what I've been doing most of the season so far. The course started into a cross-head wind. I think I went out a little too hard thinking I was in the head wind. Well, once I turned south, I knew I was in trouble, as I was then in the real head wind. Yikes! There were some markings on the road saying 10k to turn. I was thinking that 10k of the pain would never end. I had to try to minimize my blowing. Several riders passed me before the next turn. The next, fairly short leg, was a cross-tail wind. That was a relief, but it was hard to stay upright at times. As soon as I turned again, I knew it would be full guns a'blazing as I would pick up the tail wind. At that point, I was going 27 mph with little effort. My split at 15k was about 32:30. My split for the 2nd half was about 24 minutes - after I'd already blown and recovered. The winds were definitely howling. It reminded me of Bariani in the afternoon. Total time was 56:35-ish. My average speed was just about 19.7 mph - better than the previous two time trials. I was hoping to hit 54 minutes, but that was looking at last year's times, when the winds were definitely lighter. It was still a good race and good prep for Sattley this coming weekend.

On to Sattley!