There isn’t much to say about the TT since I already posted a preview, so I’ll be brief.

I rode out to the race and was buffeted by wind and light rain.  There was a afternoon storm cell rolling through, and winds were gusty and variable, coming from all directions.  By race time the winds were subsiding somewhat.  This was good except I think racers that started a few minutes after me got a lot less headwind.  This sentiment was echoed by Robin Eckmann, who has been winning a few local races and started a few minutes ahead of me.  Some starters were up to 15 minutes later.

In fact, the starters were numbered alphabetically #1-55.  I was #15.  There were no riders under #30 in the top 10, and the average bib of the top ten finishers was #45.  I think it is safe to say that I had some bad luck with the wind conditions.  There were also a few reasons I didn’t have a perfect race; small things, but they can add up.

The course changed from climbing to flat to descending every few minutes and I felt like I was having trouble finding a rhythm.  I also had a bit of diaphragm discomfort.  This could either be from a lower position, or simply riding my bike really hard during the short effort.  I also was at work the last two days, and sometimes it is best to have ridden more recently before such a hard effort.

I did pass two riders, even though I was started 10 seconds late.  There was confusion at the start house because there was no rider #14 ahead of me.  I’m hoping the results reflect this and the timing chip and/or officials took care of it.  I didn’t time myself, so I don’t have any way to verify it, so I’ll just have to trust the system.  Also, the finish was a little sooner than I expected (I should have looked up at the top of the last hill), and I should have pushed harder down the final gentle descent.  Lastly, I believe the headwind conditions favored a disc, since the relative wind speeds were higher, and this emphasized the flats over the hills.

I didn’t ride with any telemetry.  No speed, HR, power… nothing.  I’ve done this in the past and performed well, but it is a bummer not to have any data when my result wasn’t great.  As I said in my tweet, I felt good, but not great, during the TT.  I finished 12th position in a large, strong field, so I’m still reasonably satisfied.  I also earned a single Omnium point for the weekend.  Better than nothing.

Housekeeping

I was invited to try a beta WordPress advertising program a few months ago, and I got an email that the ads went live today.  I’m still not sure if I like them or not, and I’ll also have to wait and see how much revenue they generate so I can see if there is much benefit.

There is some (small) cost associated with the blog itself.  There is domain registration and a few wordpress fees (for custom layout, etc) that come to perhaps $50 per year.  I also buy a few more photos from races than I would if I were buying them only for myself.  During the racing season I probably buy $40 per month worth of photos to keep the blog fun to look at and to support local photographers.

Please vote in the poll, or feel free to comment if you have any thoughts.  I’ve considered having a paypal donation link to support the blog, and even my racing habits, as well.  Please let me know what you think about this.