Second 15km Time Trial: A Little Tipsy!

Joy here...When we woke up Tuesday morning, the rain was falling, and the sky was grey.  The weather network called for rain showers all day, turning into thunderstorms later on in the afternoon and early evening, so since it was The Man's birthday, we figured we'd have a bit of a "Yahoo Day" and head out for a decadent lunch--multiple tapas plates, champagne, chocolate pate--and I wouldn't go to the weekly time trial.  I mean, it would be cancelled if there was thunder and lightning...no one wants to be struck, just for the sake of a local bike race.

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you...

But then, lo and behold, by 4pm, the skies were clearing up.  The rain had stopped, and the cloud cover began to thin.  So with two glasses of champagne bubbling in my tummy, I got myself dressed in my cycling gear, loaded up the bike, and headed out to the start line of the weekly time trial.

And...wouldn't you know it?...of course the weather predictions were wrong, and there were no thundershowers; in fact, the rain had let up enough that the road was drying out as I warmed up and got ready (and by now I should have known better than to trust the weather reports).

The weather wasn't out to get me, but that chocolate dessert and the champagne were sitting like rocks in my distended belly, and my attention on the world around me seemed a little fractured.

In fact, I think I may have been just the teensiest bit tipsy.  But would I let a little booze keep me from competing?  Of course not.

But would that little bit of booze keep me from being competitive?  Of course it would.

Me warming up (please don't throw up,
please don't throw up, please don't throw up...)

As I started out onto the course, I realized that the wind was a lot stronger than I had expected and that my legs were a little wobbly from the indulgences.  I pedalled, and I huffed, and I chased down the woman who started 30 seconds in front of me, but at the turnaround point, I did the math in my head and realized that I was looking at a 27minute completion time, a full 86 seconds slower than last week.  Then as I was doing that tipsy math and willing my legs to somehow find some more strength, I was passed by the woman who started 30 seconds behind me.  She just blew past me as though I had been standing still, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I clicked into an easier gear and hoped that would help my legs to move faster, but the wind was gusting all around, and no matter what, I just couldn't keep my speed up at the 35km/hr mark; I kept dipping below it.

Then another woman passed me.

But this time, I could keep her in my sights.  I let her get the regulated 2 bike lengths ahead of me, and then I just matched my leg speed to hers and kept her just in my line of vision.  She passed other riders as we neared the final 3kms, and I also passed them.  I saw her storm past the finish line, and I passed two other riders before crossing the line myself.

Yahoo Day!

I was tired, disappointed, and still feeling a little unsettled in my tummy.

But when the times were posted, I came in first in my age category with a 26:11 time.  Last week, I came in 9th and was thrilled with my first-ever 15km time trial experience; this week I came in 8th but I felt a little bit disappointed in my overall experience.

With the wind, the chocolate and the champagne, my speed this week was 34.37km/hr and last week it was 34.97km/hr.

So in case you were wondering...drinking booze before competing in a race doesn't actually make you faster!

Over and out,
Joy