A local group hosts a 10 mile time trial (TT) biweekly. Last Thursday was the first of the season and both the CC&BW and RDW got personal bests for the year!
It's funny how these things progress. We first met up with this group two years ago when we were "getting started" and before any tri's. I say "getting started" bc it's all relative - most folks have ridden a bike since childhood and, well, riding a bike is supposed to be something that you never forget how to do. We thought we knew how to ride bikes and while we weren't/aren't fast...it's just riding a bike after all. Right?
The first time out was beyond humbling. We showed up, and compared to the rocket ships of the other riders, we felt like our shiny bikes were Huffy's with banana seats, streamers coming out of the handlebars, and playing cards clothespinned to the fork, you know, to make that cool engine sound as the card struck the spokes. Really...these folks looked insane to us with their fancy time trial bikes, disc wheels, aero helmets, shoe covers, skin tight one-piece outfits...you name it and these racers had the bling and the toys... Add in the fact that RDW "conveniently" pulled a space cadet move and forgot her shoes, forcing CC&BW to go it alone - not an auspicious beginning.
A couple weeks later we were back, still on our "Huffys" giving it another go. The course is a five mile out and back, generally trending uphill on the way out and down on the way back in. Locals say it has "rollers" but in our minds and even with the local riding we were doing, those were hills. There are two significant "rollers" in each direction...and I was glad to have the triple chain ring up front so that I could get into granny gear, stand up, and get my soul crushed at least four times (out and back). Our times weren't good, but since it didn't kill us, it had to make us stronger. We are itinerant attendees but try to go when we can. There is no understatement to the notion that a rider + stop watch + known distance = sufferfest / race of truth. There is no hiding out there, no drafting, and it is humbling and inspiring to watch the other participants.
Now two years later, on this past Thursday, we both had good rides. For the first time ever, the RDW didn't need to use the triple chain ring. As I'm still trying to justify the rocket ship / tri bike we're building up, it was a necessary step both physically and mentally. And, both RDW and CC&BW (who has graduated to riding a rocket ship tri bike) rode about a minute faster than their best times from last year. Yay!
ps - now we tell folks (and ourselves) that the course has some "rollers" - it's amazing what even that little mental shift can do. I think we're ready for the "massive climbs" along the Florida coast. Bring on those highway overpasses!
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