Dismal Dash 40k Time Trial

Posted by Dan on 16. March 2009 01:01

I'm thinking maybe next year I'll start my season around the end of May. Yesterday's Sleepy Hole Smackdown was cancelled due to rain. It's been rescheduled for next Sunday (3/22) should anyone not already registered want to participate. Today's Dismal Dash was... well... irritating. Temperatures were in the low 40s and the rain was constant. On the bright side, there was very little wind.

I picked up my racing number and instructions (aka packet) yesterday at All About Bikes so I didn't have to mess with registration today. I arrived with enough time to get my timing chip, change and get a 20 minute-ish warm up before my start time of 10:17 AM. The timing chip system provided by Kale Running is a very cool concept and I wish more races used them. Results are immediately saved to a database and easily uploaded to their site so you don't have to wait several days. They also put a pad at the half-way point to record time-out and time-back. Very cool.

What came next was a fairly boring ride that seemed to last several hours. My goal was to maintain 97%-100% of my max HR, which I did, more or less. I put on Wick's clip-on aero bars last night and rode the trainer for awhile getting used to them. I was a bit concerned I wouldn't be able to maintain an aero position for a full 40k, but it wasn't a problem.

If you haven't done the Dismal Dash before, you start out at the White Marsh Shopping center in Suffolk. From there, it's a flat run with one turn and a u-turn at the state line about 12.5 miles away. I was caught by the rider behind me a few miles before the u-turn. I passed three or four other riders, but never saw the guy that passed me again, let alone my minute man (who it turns out finished 20 seconds before me). After the final turn with maybe five miles to go, I was caught by two more riders while passing another. There was a wide range of talent on the road today.

The results were posted to Kale Running's website early this afternoon. In my BAR category, I scored 10th out of 16 starters with a time of 1:08:59.70, 5:09.30 back from the leader who had a time of 1:03:50.40.

The next TT is the Virginia Farm Bureau's Conquer the Canal Time Trial. This one's only 20k and I'll have my new Equinox. Factor in good weather and I'm sure to deliver a sub-30 minute time.