Post date: Jul 18, 2010 2:54:45 AM
Saluki Cycling Classic: Team Time Trial
Carbondale IL, 3/28/2010
We arrived in Carbondale late friday night. It was a six hour drive, and we were all exhausted. The men's D team time trial was scheduled to start at 10 am on saturday, so we all hopped into bed right away and dreamed of a high carb hotel breakfast.
It was my first bicycle race ever, and I was quite nervous. I had no idea how to warm up, how much water to drink, or what to eat. As a result of my ignorance, I did all three pretty wrong. I was grateful that the first event was a time trial, and that I was riding with a couple of super supportive guys: Bryce and Dan.
We started the time trial off really strong. Dan was pulling really hard, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to match when it came my turn. After about two minutes of flying through the course, Dan dropped off and it was my turn to pull. The course was full of hills and we had a pretty strong headwind, but Dan had gotten me super pumped with his effort, so I started hammering. The wind was so strong that Bryce and I didn't hear when Dan yelled "gap!" He had pulled for a little too long, and needed a couple seconds to recover. We noticed him when he was about fifty yards back, and dropped to pace so he could catch up and bask in the draft for awhile.
We were able to get it together after this first incident, and the pulls evened out really well. We kept our pace steady, and dreamed of the tailwind after the midpoint of the time trial course. When we did finally reach it, I happened to be the rider pulling. There were so many guys waving flags that my oxygen-starved brain picked the wrong direction to turn in. Thankfully Dan and Bryce slow rolled and let me catch up.
The rest of the time trial was pretty smooth. There was a moment when Bryce's front derailleur played some tricks, and I thought we were all gonna end up in a pile on the side of the road. He recovered control like a champ and we rode on to the finish.
It was an exhausting experience, but I was feeling great. I had made it through my first competitive cycling experience ever, and was plenty warm and ready for the upcoming road race.
-Louis Fernandez