Racing and Rides Information Blog 2008

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Mon, 21 Jul 2008

The Race of Truth...With a Painful Twist!
I really wanted to know how I could do in a TT event on my road bike, and since I currently do all of my riding and racing without aerobars (hopefully I'll be getting a TT bike for next season), I entered the race knowing I'd have a severe handicap. Halfway to Frenchtown, though, it dawned on me how important it is to make and use a checklist for the morning of an event- I forgot my shoes! When I got to the race, I left a message asking anyone with an extra pair that I was in need, but my chances were slim; I ride on Crank Brothers Quatros, and would most likely need a set of pedals to go with the shoes I'd get.

Racetime arrived, and while everyone was lining up in order, I was leaning on a signpost while Dave Sempier used electrical tape to attach my running shoes to my bike. When the guy in the number before me left, Dave shoved me off and I crawled up to the starting line, getting a hand from the volunteer on the line. The countdown went to zero, and was off... After a quick warmup, I learned that I couldn't get pressure off my cranks on the upstroke unless I concentrated on lifting extra high, so it took quite a bit more attention to get a good stroke. I must say, the looks on people's faces as I passed them was priceless. It felt like most of my force was lost to the outside of the shoe, which didn't quite fit on the little pedals, but I kept my speed up fairly high, ignoring the pain coming through the flimsy rubber soles at the contact points. I was glad when the feet went numb.

At the end of the race, I rode into the parking lot, and with a good hard pull, launched my foot out of my shoe, which flipped upside down, dangling by the stretched but true and faithful rubber tape. I had a small crowd gathered around; it seems there were quite a few people interested in seeing the time of the guy with red tape on his shoes. I did the 36k in 54.01, with my speedo claiming an average of 23.4 mph; my time was good enough to get 6th out of the ten cat 5ers there. I went there hoping to average over 24, but, with the way I ended up racing, I was happy with my time, and even happier that I was able to fly by the starting line on my return trip at 30 for the cameras! As always, I tried to remember that things could have been worse, and I'm glad I didn't get upset and ruin the day. Hopefully next time I can see what I can really do...

Orlin H.

posted at: 14:27 | path: | permanent link to this entry