Feels like I'm Cheating

Well after some carefull consideration and lack of Grapes. I have opted to outfit my Cannondale R2000 into my Time Trialing Machine. I mean..this frame has been sitting on my bike stand for ages. It is very light and sports a very aggressive stance, it should do the trick. Besides...everything I have read states that most of the resistance is Body position (almost 80%) so ,as long as I can get Aero enough...I should be fine.

First thing I did was borrow Percy's Aero Bars and mount those bad boy's to get a feel for position. Well, after raising and positioning my seat forward and then lowered my stem, I placed on the Aero Bars....now, I was set. I have to admit, I was getting altittle excited trying out this new discipline. I have ridden my Road Bike for the better of 20,000 miles and this is the first time I am trying this Time Trial aspect of cycling. Call me old fashioned, but I always relished the idea of riding into the wind. I always felt it added some serious resistance and made me stronger on the bike.

Got to tell you...after just 5 rides I cannot belive the differnce of the Aero Bars alone. It feels like I am cheating. I took my new Time Trialing machine out for my Saturday Time Trial Course and easily shed 45 seconds from my best time over 15km (9mi) and the effort didn't seem as erratic. Just nice and smooth, just grinding away. Well after seeing that progress, I did decide to order some serious deep dish Aero Wheels and they should help steal some time as well.

Now that Time Trialing has gotten me alittle excited, it would be nice if there was some local Time Trial events here on Long Island. Beside the Friday night 15km Time Trial once or twice a year. , I do not believe there are any others here on Long Island. Now that I have added interest in racing , it is very frustrating that Long Island lacks any real cycling events throughout the year. Having to work Saturdays, really makes traveling for Sunday races kind of impossible. Well, if I was single or lived in my old Condo, it would be great. But with so much life getting in the way, sometimes I just can't getaway.

Well, I hit the Birds last Sunday, and as I mentioned in my previous blog...that ride nevers gets old. It is the kind of ride that really propels your traing. Now, you can go there and just sit in..and that's okay. Or you can spend lots of time in the front pushing the pace. I actually use this ride as a training device, it is not an accident that when I get to the front, I try to bring my speed up and then hold it for as long as I can, and then repeat again and again.

Being a veteran on this ride....you know when to pick your spots and watch the riders around you. Because this ride plays itself like a movie you have seen a hundred times and just like a movie that you watch over and over...you know when the good parts are coming. And without fail, the ride delivers the goods. Take last week, I was sleeping at wheel hanging out in the back of the pack while we climbed the rt51 hill. Half way up the hill, I realize that I can't really get around some of the slower wheels and am stuck in traffic. No big deal, I look around and see Trevor, Mike Innusa, and myself and fiqure...we will reattach. What I failed to realize was George jumped on the ride by the courts with his new Specialized Speed Machine (TT Bike ) and was pushing at the top...showing off his new toy.

Well now we have a problem. It turned out a group of 8 of us chased the lead group, we pushed so hard that we dwindled the group down to 5 with speed consistantly around 28-34 mph. Theres nothing like pushing the pace with a small group, it's the closest you can get to racing...without actually racing. But the ego does get invloved and nobody likes getting dropped or not being able to bridge. So, like men posssesed we chased and chased. However, after tuning North onto RT 111, the breakaway group of George, Craig, Kris and Percy ( GAB's on the loose! ) with a strong tailwind were gone. ...I knew there would be no catching them today...oh well, it happens. We rolled into the parking lot and laughed about the separation and the chase. We finished the ride with a 23.2 avg.for 55 miles...not too shabby. Actually it was one of the fastest North Route Rides I could remember..when you take into account the stop signs and red light and other rolling stops that we dealt with, avg. 23.2 miles per hour is very impressive. Well, I proceeded to ride home and get in a solid 75 mile day again.