2009 Team Nature's Path Time Trial

Posted by Dan on 20. July 2009 03:53

This should be a short(er) post. Team Nature's Path put on a time trial in Midlothian covering a little more than 15.5 miles over some nice rolling terrain. Here's the profile:



A little backstory first. Friday morning at 4:00 AM, my alarm went off so I'd make it to the airport for a 6:05 AM departure for Providence, RI. I had a funeral to attend in New London and did not want to spend the middle of the day rushing around New England. My return flight departed Providence at 8:30 PM, so I left the reception and drove to the airport, dropped off the rental car and made my way through security by 7:30. After getting a bite to eat, I learned big storms in Philly had delayed my plane and we wouldn't be taking off until 9:10, which meant I'd miss my connecting flight. After some suave negotations, I managed to get on the Newport News flight landing at midnight-ish. A taxi cab to Norfolk Intl got me to my car and I walked in my front door at 1 AM. I'm pretty sure this is how the top 10 time trialists spend the night before an event.

But wait! There's more!

So I set the alarm for 6 AM, which gives time for me and the family to eat breakfast, drive to Midlothian, setup the bike, get dressed and still leave half an hour for warming up. Of course none of that can happen if I don't wake up at 6. One simple smack of the snooze button would mean no warm-up. Two would be catastrophic. So I woke up at 6:44 AM. In a record setting attempt, we all made it into the car with all gear and a bag of food by 7:00. I ate whatever Lydia handed me as we sped to Richmond. Watching the clock and getting nervous, I was mildly amused to look down and see the 'RUNNING ON FUMES' light come on. So we pull off the parkway and got gas. Returning to the Powhite Parkway I learned I could not get back on and had to backtrack to look for another route.

Eventually we made it and set to getting dressed and the bike ready. I had exactly enough time to swap the wheels, put on a bottle, change into a skinsuit and get my number pinned on. As Lydia was pinning me, my name was being broadcast through a bullhorn, telling me it was time to line up. Warm-up shwarm-up.

The rest is your typical time trial. Lots of riding, heavy breathing and sweating. Being only 15 miles, there was no need to drink so that wasn't an issue. There were several hills and a couple hairy corners, but overall it was uneventful. I felt as well as can be expected given the circumstances.

After a very long wait for results, during which time we made a trip to the local Arby's, results were posted. I got 1st place with a time of 0:34:49. The next rider was 8 seconds behind that and third place was only 1 second behind him. The top 5 were all within 32 seconds of each other. And everyone laughed when I put on my shiny silver David Bowie Spaceman shoe covers. Well who's laughing now?