Last TT in NZ

Tonight I rode my last TT here. Last week's got canceled due to a storm, so tonight they went with an ITT in order to handicap us for next week's race. I'm feeling a bit sketched about racing next week, but I'll see how it goes I guess.

At any rate, this evening I felt really, really good. Funny enough, it was a really lovely day here weather-wise and very low winds. As I got ready to head out the wind picked up (we're going to have another big storm here tomorrow). As I rode down to the site of our races (about 1/2 hr ride from my flat) I felt quite discouraged. I'm actually getting real tired of all this wind. It's been great training. I've learned some good skills on how to handle the bike in the wind. I'm gaining a lot more confidence and agility in doing it. But tonight the wind started the break me.As I rode around the bays and suburbs of Welly I looked down at my fork and realized that I'd forgotten my timing tag at home. DOH!! OK. That sealed the deal. If I couldn't even get a properly recorded time I was out. I got to the corner before the turn-off to the start of the TT and waited there for my friend, Jess, deciding to tell her that I was just going to ride around the loop and back home so she wouldn't worry that I wasn't there. Yep. You got it. I gave up on the race. I was sooooo not in the mood to ride hard into a 50 kph headwind tonight. I do realize that TTs are about testing yourself and your will, but as I've said before, I have very little in the way of a head for this, so tonight it was dead in the water for me. As I waited for my friend one of the organizers rode up and chatted with me. I mentioned that I'd forgotten my timing tag and he said, "Oh, no worries. We have heaps of them tonight. You can borrow one". OK. I'm back in. He and I rode over to the start and Jess was already there!

I borrowed a timing tag, got myself on the start sheet, and lined up. We start 30 seconds apart. Jess ended up being first to start since she was there so early. I was fifth. As per usual, the headwind was killer. I'd cooled down enough and couldn't be bothered to warm up again before the start, so that my legs hurt like all get out for the first ten minutes. I started in the big ring, but moved it to the small ring after about a km of pain. Kept warming up and did ok into the wind in the small ring, but still in a reasonably hard gear. I kept gaining on the guy in front of me (a junior, but still, they usually pass me). I felt encouraged. He was having a hard time with the wind. Every time we got a good gust of it he didn't have the experience to push into it and manage how it pushes you all over. I learned how to manage this better from Mario, one of the shop mechanics. I did not move into an easier gear. And I passed this kid as another gust of wind pushed down on us real hard. Sweet.

It's about 3 km out into a headwind on this course when we have a northerly. Then you hit this point, and you are getting absolutely blasted by the wind from the front and the left, but there is this little beacon of hope: a tiny little lighthouse. When you see the lighthouse on the point you know the pain will soon be over, because this is when you turn out of the headwind. As I rounded that corner, being pushed around on the road by the wind, I prepared to move into the big ring again. Around the corner, big ring, and 50 kph tailwind. Sweet as! Now I'm gaining on the girl who was in front of that kid I just passed. I pass her around a beach called Scorching Bay. I was surprised, actually, at how fast I went by her. I big ringed it up this small hill that takes us down into a town called Breaker Bay. At the top of this hill though, I got caught. I have to say, I was wondering when one of the elite girls was going to catch me. They were only started a minute and a half and two minutes behind me. But here we are, on a course that is just under 14 km, and it took this girl, with full aero set-up, until the 11.5 km mark to catch me. I must be improving! I descended the hill, and now with about 2 km to go I get passed by the second girl. I was able to keep them both in sight until the end, which I felt happy about. Even though my legs were hurting a bit at the end I still tried for a sprint and, looking at my data, managed a decent 7 kph increase in speed in the last 250 m. :) Not quite as good as the last one, but on the last TT I was well rested at the end, as I'd sat up for part since I'd been feeling pretty bad that night.

Jess didn't get passed so she started first and was the first to finish. That was really cool! I wish we could've done a TTT this week as we would have kicked some butt!! She and I rode home around the rest of the bays and battled the ridiculous headwind up our 5 km climb on Happy Valley. The final hill to get home out of the Aro Valley is a steep and hurting one, but as it usually happens when we reach the top, it always feels great when you get there and know you've done it. I suppose the endorphins don't hurt. Not to mention the view.

And all of this after initially giving up on doing the TT altogether. Yes. I'm happy that I did it. It felt good. But I will say one thing - I'm really looking forward to a vacation from this wind. And I'm really, really looking forward to riding when I get back home, with no wind. Now that's sweet as.