CCTT #5 had beautiful weather... finally! Poor Erik was so bummed because he forgot his cycling shoes so he couldn't ride. He is still convinced that it was the one chance he had to run a really fast time (because the weather was ideal) but since he didn't ride, he'll never know. As it turns out, Erik and I are about the same size, which makes it pretty convenient because we can share things like clothes, shoes, and bikes! So with Erik unable to ride, I decided to try his TT-specific bike and aero helmet. The bike is a bit sketchy at slow speeds and on sharp turns because the position is so aggressive, but in the aero position at high speed, it handled better. The bar end shifters were really nice! The theory was that I wouldn't have to take my my hands off the aero bars throughout the whole race, but it ended up not being the case because stupid me neglected to adjust the aero helmet to fit my head before the race so it kept falling down over my eyes so every few seconds I had to reach up to fix it... all that probably entirely negated any aerodynamic advantage I may have gained from the TT bike and helmet. Oh well. I don't have any desire to use that gear again though... the position was too aggressive for me and I didn't feel like I could make as much power. Not to mention, my neck was SO sore afterward.
Congratulations to everyone for riding so well this week. It took me FOREVER to catch Jeanie and Marni... you girls were riding really strong!
Race #4 (5/2/07) - 31:35 - Crazy windy, again! (11th out of 21)
Race #5 (5/9/07) - 29:18 - My fastest time yet but it's hard to say whether it was a result of the aero gear, the good weather, or both. But the weird thing is that I actually felt slower this week, probably because it took me so long to pass Jeanie and Marni. (12th out of 26)
