Posted by Dan on 13. April 2011 06:39
Saturday was the part 1 of what would have been Fat Frog's annual race weekend, starting in Chesapeake with the Conquer the Canal Time Trial and culminating in Hampton with the Langley Speedway Crit. Unfortunately, Langley was overrun with go-karts so it'd be only a TT this weekend.
The Celerity Cycling mob showed up early to fight off the chill and get in a good warm up before our early start times. Riding with me in this race of truth was Andrew, Kirk, Anthony, Jerry and Penny Altares, Frank and Wick. Andrew, Kirk and Anthony were first off with the Cat 5s. All three were still on the course when we left. After a short pause the Cat 3s rolled in. Wick was the second 3 out (after forgetting his shoes and finding a spare pair at the last possible second), I was a minute and a half behind him and Frank was a minute and a half behind me on his road bike with clamp-ons. Awhile after the last 3 went out, Jerry launched with the 4s. Everyone would finish before Penny got to start her first ever time trial in the W40+ category.
With the threat of a bear attack drastically reduced with all the commotion at the beach, I felt free to fly for the first time ever on this course. After making it through about a quarter of my time trial warm up playlist, I climbed off the bike and finished prepping before heading to the line. Mickey Turner was first to go off, followed by Wick. Tim Pope was my 30 second man. Andy Winch kindly filled the role of Chief Holder and did a magnificent job. I didn't pay attention to the time, but I wish I had. Gerald gave me a countdown and off I went.
The outbound leg seemed very fast. I pushed a little harder than usual and enjoyed the tailwind. Shortly after the turnaround, I started catching riders despite the head/crosswind. A few Cat 5s and my 30, 60 and 90 second men, all within the span of 10 seconds, albeit it a mile or so from the finish. This definitely was one of my better rides on the TT bike. I attribute it to the new Prologo saddle and subsequent change in position. For the first time ever, I could focus on drilling it in the final stretch instead of trying to hoist myself off the saddle to relieve pressure on my nether regions. A PB average power gave me a time of 0:26:09, 34 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
Results were posted and Kirk took 1st place in the Cat 5s with Andrew in 2nd place a mere 38 seconds behind. Anthony took 27th. Frank would motor on to get 6th while Wick took 8th (with absolutely zero warm-up). Jerry took 9th in the 4s and Penny finished 12th in her first time trial.
After consulting my trusty PowerTap Cervo, it appeared that my time might not have been as remarkable as reported. My average speed for the duration was 26.8 mph. Over a distance of 12.15 miles, my time should have been closer to 0:27:09. That would put me 1 second behind Dan King and Cam Holland, which would coincide with my Dismal Dash results. Frank reviewed his data and came to the same conclusion, as did Joe Altomare in the Cat 4s. It would appear as though there was a one minute discrepancy between the clocks at the start and finish. On the other hand, I don't know for sure that the course was 12+ miles. Maybe it was 11.7 miles and maybe my super new saddle IS that great. I do know I blasted right through the finish line and kept going, only letting up when I caught Mickey Turner who finished about a minute in front of me. Maybe I'm including that extra distance "at speed" in my total time. At any rate, if there is a discrepancy, it seems to be consistent throughout the 3s and 4s.
It's all moot as "the protest period for this event has expired and no changes can or will be made to these results." And that's the truth.