First Bike Race Ever!

Joy here...This blog began on the heels of Nomi and I finishing our first-ever running race.  That was a 10km running race that took place as the sun set on the airport roads in Singapore at the end of May 2010.

Fast forward two years, and it's now May 2012.

I just completed another first.

Snacking on a mint chocolate GU to fuel up before
the start of the time trial!
(See our "favourite things" post for more on sport foods!)

This time it was my first-ever bike race.  It was a 10km time trial.

In May 2010, I finished that 10km running race in 54:48 and was happy to have finished in under 60 minutes, which was my target.  Tonight, I finished a 10km time trial in 17:51 and was happy to have finished in under 18 minutes, which was my target.

Time trialling is a particular kind of bike race where each rider races the clock.  She starts alone, and the next rider starts 30 seconds after her, and the next another 30 seconds later, and the next another 30 seconds later and so on down the ranks.  So you're just out there on the road riding by yourself, looking at your own watch and hoping that no one from behind you is going so fast that she tears through that 30 second head-start you have on her to pass you.  Once everyone has finished the course, the race organizers can tally everyone's results and come up with a ranking.

Me, fourth in line, waiting my turn to start!

There's a local women's time trial series run here in Ottawa out at the Aviation museum (where I've ridden before a few times this season, like this Saturday ride where I practiced going really hard, or when I rode with the Trainer and Professor and another friend and had to battle the winds and a blown tire, or that time when "gym guy" wouldn't let me use the bathroom, or when Cili Padi and I rode for our first outdoor ride of the season back in March).  Since I figured I'm sort of familiar with the road, there'd be no harm in heading out there to try my hand (or feet and legs) at time trialling.

I figured that so long as I didn't come in dead last, I'd be fine.  There are a lot of fit and talented cyclists in this town, so I just didn't want to embarrass myself.

Me just getting started...

The race organizers lined us up in the order of where we figured we would finish, slowest to fastest.  So we gathered together at the side of the road in the proper order, and then each cyclist would get up to the start line, and a volunteer would hold the back of her bike so that she could clip both feet into the pedals (usually if both feet are clipped in, you have to be moving, otherwise you'll just fall over...trust me, I've fallen plenty of times).  As the volunteer counts down from 5 seconds, the rider gets ready to start, and then when the countdown reaches 0 the volunteer holding the bike gives the cyclists a kind of push (ever-so-slight) and off she goes!

I had never experienced this kind of start before, so I was just happy that I didn't fall over into the ditch as soon as the guy let me go!

To compensate, I started pedalling really fast, and before I knew it, I looked down at my computer, and I was riding at 36km/hr.  I knew I couldn't hold that pace for the full 10kms without getting really tired or exploding my legs (both figuratively and literally), so I slowed down to about 33km/hr and tried to hold that.  I could hear my legs pushing--whoomp, whoomp, whoomp--as I willed myself forward.  The road is deceptive.  It looks relatively flat, but it is NOT.  It inclines upwards ever so slightly for quite a while, and then just when I was thinking that I couldn't take it any more, I reached a stretch where there were some wicked winds tearing across these open fields and into me, making each pedal stroke that much harder.  It was like pedalling through molasses...molasses with screaming legs.

Me storming over the finish line.

And then, I was at the turn-around point.  I had to watch for traffic, because the road isn't closed and we just ride on the paved shoulder, the turn-around point can be rather dangerous, because you have to shoulder check and also hope no one's coming from the front, so I slowed down quite a bit and did the turn kind of awkwardly, but then I picked up the pace and went over 40km/hr for a while before the wind picked up again and my legs told me to slow down a bit.  So I just kept my breathing steady and tried to keep my legs steady as they turned over, and then, before I knew it, I was only 300m from the finish line and I pedalled as fast as my little legs could carry me...zooming past the finishing line and shouting out my number so that the time keepers could match my time up with my identity.

In the end, it was a super fun race experience, and when the results were posted, I was happy to find out how I did:

Out of 29 competitors, I came in 14th, and in my category (female age 30-35), I came in 3rd!

Woo hoo! I didn't come in dead last!

Over and out,
Joy

PS-I couldn't have had this amazingly fun race adventure without the help of The Man who came with me (and took the pics), cheered me on, held my food, and was the one who told me to aim for around 18 minutes in the first place.  He also told me how to ride a time trial, so that when I started off a little fast, it was his voice I heard in my head telling me to ride smart and conserve energy.  Just a little shout out to The Man...well deserved! :)