Well, Shawn got me hooked on this bizarre TT / TTT thing. I mean, who wouldn't fall in love with a discipline that has you on an almost entirely uncomfortable bike locked down in an aero position and pedaling as hard as is possible for as long as one can? I had so much fun, doing this with Shawn, Scott, and Mike a few weeks ago - I was ready to try again. A few days before Shawn invited me, Jamie called on me to try again, along with another newbie. This time I was a partially 'seasoned vet' on our 3 person team - with a real vet in fellow New Mexico transplant Jamie Ryan-White (I was on his bike - he raced his prologue bike). Our sucker, er - 3rd person was the North Shore Legend, Mr. David Alden-St. Pierre. Who needs a 4th when you've got such horsepower?  Dave would rock the clip-ons, helping his huge 6'-3" tall mass of muscle get down to business. He actually had damned good form for never trying it, and on his franken-tt-bike contraption no less. I had been stunned a few weeks ago when, for the first time - I rode a real TT bike. Holy Christ they are fast, if not completely useless for most other riding other than to get down and get busy FAST and in a straight line. Dave would have to make do with his get-up this hot evening, out on the road.

So we lined up behind Shawn and his crack crew - and vowed to make up the 4 minutes between his team and our bad selves. Goal was to break 27 minutes with Dave. Jamie and I can both do the TT loop in under 26.5 minutes on a good day, and with Dave punching a king-sized hole into the headwind for us, on occasion - we figured to kill it. We didn't mean to kill Dave! Off we went and Dave was up the road before I was clipped in, and before Jamie could get his 56t X 12t gear turning over 12 rpm's. Once together Dave pulled too hard for too long off the bat. We should have made him tuck in and conserve WAY more, I believe. Once on Rte. 133 we started falling apart, and all hell broke loose on the last stretch, where the hills kick in. Being a strong mountain biker, Dave was able to power up the hills, but seemed to crack at the top(s), or just before. It certainly did not help that he'd put in a 12 hour shift at he hospital, on his feet - and arrived in time to take off sans any real warm-up. One rule I try to teach new-to-road-racing / riding riders is on the road, one ought to build into the climbs - not straight up ATTACK them at the bottom and fade over the top. I was masterful at this awful technique for years, until a training buddy had it and set me straight. Dave will now know this, and perhaps approach the climbs with a tad less ferocity at the bottom - but crest them with a roar where he can hammer the flats and descents immediately afterward.

In the end, we cajoled, cheered, hooted and hollered - and got Dave across the line, intact - after an unofficial time of 30 minutes. At the bike shop party later on, it was overheard we were officially clocked at 28 something - though I think Kelly said she had turned off the stop watch, or dropped it - or both before we rolled through... we now have TWO TT converts - and much thanks goes to Shawn and Jamie for making two new converts in Dave and I. As soon as I get a job, I'll put a TT bike on the wish-list. It might be behind a few other things - but WAY higher up the list than before.

I'm a bike racing whore. There. I admit it. If someone asks me to race - despite never having done an event - or a whole discipline - I'll likely say yes. Just don't try and get me into triathalon gear... yet. Such was the case a few weeks ago when a friend from the Velo de Mer group asked if I'd do a Team Time Trial. I had toyed with the idea last year, but never could get it on the schedule. This year I could - and did. I thought "hey, bolt on some clip-ons and don an aero helmet - and presto! I'm good to go. Well, our in house TT and Track pro, Mr. Jamie Ryan White would have none of it - and threw his tricked out factory KHS TT bike at me, and a spare set of wheels - as if the deep section front wheel and disk rear wheel with tubulars weren't enough...

So the day before the TTT I rode the crazy ass contraption around. All I could think was "WHOA - this thing flies!". Then I picked the gnats out of my teeth and got ready for the next days event. These machines are built to go fast. Sick fast. I was honestly taken aback by how fast it was! Comfortable? Not bad - but not a bike to be on for more than 45-60 minutes.

The event was the weekly ECV Wednesday Night TT - which every few weeks they throw a TTT in. All told about 11.5 miles - from the Hamilton / Wenham High School, up Route 1A, onto Route 133, then looping back on some steeper local roads. In the (1) pre-ride of the course we did, I thought it'd be a snap. Save a little for that last leg on the smaller / hilly roads, and presto! Done.

When our 4-man team lined up, and went off - things were fine. Well, for the first 5- minutes. Once out on 133, our 4th guy came off the group and I took a too long / too hard "pull". A few minutes later, at the limit, we turned onto the last leg and into a headwind and uphill. Now I detonated. All I could do was hang on and try and keep Shawn and Scott - two accomplished TT freaks - in sight. The problem was they NEEDED me to finish, as a teams' time was clocked when the 3rd guy went through, so we had to stay close. It took all I had - we did it, and was I cooked!

Of course, I want to do it again - and keep the team together and tight and be smarter...

Now, what to on the next Wednesday? How about line up with a field of stupid fast domestic pros and hammer head amateurs and race our asses off, around in 1 1/2 minute circles, in downtown Beverly? Cool! Sign me up. The Gran Prix of Beverly took place last Wednesday, and I lasted exactly 12 minutes before being "pulled" - which they do when you're so slow you are in danger of getting lapped. In the process I had fun - and pegged a 196 bpm heart rate. Yow! Haven't had it that high since 2005 when I did a maximum HR test with a coach... let's just say the race was wicked fast, the temps were scorching, and I was oddly juiced. The key is to survive a few more minutes than I did - then the survivors slow up a bit, take stock of the field, and race a more sustainable pace - until the sprint at the end.

The sprint at the end of "my race" - viewed from the sidelines as a spectator now - involved a big guy sprinting around a corner, clipping a pedal, and SMASHING a US Postal Service mailbox - bolted to a slab of concrete. He not only knocked it over - but sent it across the sidewalk! Good thing the ambulance was 25 feet away... Tim Johnson and a number of other local Pro's schooled the amateur group(s) and were fun to watch... in the end lapping the remaining field(s). So goes Criterium Racing...

Next up: Salem "Witch City" Crit this Wednesday, August 11th! Bring the beer stein - or the fast legs. I'll be riding down, killing it, then riding (limping?) home.