Posted by Dan on 6. August 2011 07:54
This race weekend starting taking form on Tuesday with a cold I contracted from my children, who incidentally were mere carriers and never exhibited a symptom after the initial sniffle. I, on the other hand, did exhibit symptoms all week and unlike those children, I had a time trial to do on Saturday.
The Shenandoah Time Trial was a must-do event on several levels. It was both a Virginia and MABRA BAR race, it was part of the GamJams Cat 3 Cup p/b Mountain Khakis series, it was race number three in the Mid-Atlantic Time Trial Series and, most importantly, it was a TIME TRIAL. I love those things.
Frank and I drove to Harrisonburg Friday afternoon to pre-ride the course as the profile was a little intimidating and a good recon mission would help us decide which cassette to run, which anti-critter sprays to carry and where we should leave a survival kit hidden - just in case. The Friday Afternoon Exodus from the Southside prevented us from seeing it in daylight, so we'd have to drive it the next morning.
Saturday, I awoke to find the cold had not moved into my lungs and that we were a go for racing. If I rode hard enough, there'd be no way to tell snot from sweat or spit. We ate and headed out to drive the course. This race would be very interesting with all its corners, descents and long, gradual climbs. The short but steep climb on the inbound leg was no laughing matter either. I regretted not bringing a more appropriate cassette to pair with the TT bike's 56/42T chainrings.
After registering, we set about our standard TT routine: dress, prep the bike, warm-up, final prep and roll-out to the line. After Frank and I rode 1/2 mile ride to the start/finish, Frank realizes he forgot to pin his number on. I'm looking at 60 seconds to my start; he's about a minute after that. Unable to help, I watched as he sprinted back to the car to get his number. I was long gone before he made it back. Thanks to Nate Hakken of GamJams Racing for the emergency pin job.
The course turned out to be every bit as challenging as we'd thought it'd be. The corners were a little sketchy but manageable. The climbs were tolerable and easily handled on a TT bike, though I'd have preferred the Madone.
Frank killing it out of a corner. Photo by Shenandoah Newz.
After I crossed the line, I was disappointed to see I was unable to maintain what I considered to be an acceptable average power. Could have been the cold or maybe it the easing up on the descents lowered my average more than I thought it would. It'd be awhile before results were posted, confirming that it was the course and not my cold that messed with the numbers. Everyone's results seemed pretty consistent. I got 1st place and Frank finished in 7th place, despite starting two minutes after his start time. He'd have ended up with 4th place had he pinned his number on before the start. In the GamJams Cat 3 Cup p/b Mountain Khakis, Brian Sjoberg (Bike Doctor) tied for 1st.
Dan and Brian Sjoberg on the podium.
2nd place Gus Grissom is MIA.
Photo by Shenandoah Newz.
Thanks to Page Valley Cycling, Whole Wheel Velo Club and Chris Gould for the spectacular race. Tour of Page Valley is next weekend.