Yesterday was an interesting day. After my solo ride I did something on a bike that I'd never done before - a tandem TT...indeed. My solo ride was fine - I felt okay and actually won with a very average time basically because no one was there. The real story here is the second ride.
I've been racing bikes for (gulp) 17 years and had never been on a tandem, much less raced on one. Earlier in the week we'd managed to squeeze in about 15min on the track so my pre-race experience was essentially nil. My pilot and the owner of said tandem, my teammate MetLifeGuy, hadn't ridden the bike for like 12 years so we weren't feeling so super when we saw the course had a turnaround on it. I was envisioning us slowing, myself jumping off 'cross style, grabbing the rear end and running a 180 with it then jumping back into the saddle for the return trip. I was most worred that I'd do/not do something that'd cause us to end up on the pavement or in a ditch.
The 30K Garden Prairie course is out-and back with a few turns, an overpass or two and good pavement. Conditions were decent - lots of cross/head wind on the way back but otherwise dry and sunny. We got to the start with about 10 seconds to spare before go-time so I really didn't have a chance to be nervous. It was basically roll up and go. We got clipped in and going pretty easily and started passing people. I was concerned about the turns - when do I coast? When do I pedal? When and how much do I lean? Oh, and my favorite - I can't see shit back here!! The self response: just shut up and pedal.
Ends up the cone for the turnaround was placed at an intersection so we had extra space to maneuver the bike. It was a nervous moment for me but Mike handled it perfectly and we were headed back without any problem. It hit me shortly after that I was pretty dehydrated and hadn't brought a bottle - so I was a bit in the pain box. I was a little whiny but mostly okay. We kept passing people and no one passed us - very cool. As it is with any good TT, snot, sweat and drool were everywhere. At one point I actually wiped my nose on Mike's ass. Because I could.
We ended up with a time that was good enough for 2nd to a pair of guys on a full aero tandem with a disc (and they only did one ride!!). Mind you, the tandem we rode was rockin' 40 spoke wheels, an 8 speed drivetrain and some killer 28mm messenger tires (with tread). Nevermind the poorly functioning rear brake... It's a very sweet bike - and bonus, my favorite color. I think we rode well together and I actually had a lot of fun, even though it mostly hurt. I have to thank my pilot for doing a great job of driving, keeping me calm and communicating - he kept me informed of gear changes, course features and checked to make sure that I was okay. Thank you, Mike. I will stoke your tandem again anyday!!
Up next (holy crap!) a weekend of NO RACING. Well, I think so anyway. I haven't looked at the calendar lately. Next Monday (the 31st) is the state 500m and pursuit championship at the track so I plan on doing that stuff. I also see a trip to the driving range in my future.
I finished 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley the other day. A timeless classic. Undecided on what's next. Maybe another classic. We'll see. As always, thanks for reading.
I've been racing bikes for (gulp) 17 years and had never been on a tandem, much less raced on one. Earlier in the week we'd managed to squeeze in about 15min on the track so my pre-race experience was essentially nil. My pilot and the owner of said tandem, my teammate MetLifeGuy, hadn't ridden the bike for like 12 years so we weren't feeling so super when we saw the course had a turnaround on it. I was envisioning us slowing, myself jumping off 'cross style, grabbing the rear end and running a 180 with it then jumping back into the saddle for the return trip. I was most worred that I'd do/not do something that'd cause us to end up on the pavement or in a ditch.
The 30K Garden Prairie course is out-and back with a few turns, an overpass or two and good pavement. Conditions were decent - lots of cross/head wind on the way back but otherwise dry and sunny. We got to the start with about 10 seconds to spare before go-time so I really didn't have a chance to be nervous. It was basically roll up and go. We got clipped in and going pretty easily and started passing people. I was concerned about the turns - when do I coast? When do I pedal? When and how much do I lean? Oh, and my favorite - I can't see shit back here!! The self response: just shut up and pedal.
Ends up the cone for the turnaround was placed at an intersection so we had extra space to maneuver the bike. It was a nervous moment for me but Mike handled it perfectly and we were headed back without any problem. It hit me shortly after that I was pretty dehydrated and hadn't brought a bottle - so I was a bit in the pain box. I was a little whiny but mostly okay. We kept passing people and no one passed us - very cool. As it is with any good TT, snot, sweat and drool were everywhere. At one point I actually wiped my nose on Mike's ass. Because I could.
We ended up with a time that was good enough for 2nd to a pair of guys on a full aero tandem with a disc (and they only did one ride!!). Mind you, the tandem we rode was rockin' 40 spoke wheels, an 8 speed drivetrain and some killer 28mm messenger tires (with tread). Nevermind the poorly functioning rear brake... It's a very sweet bike - and bonus, my favorite color. I think we rode well together and I actually had a lot of fun, even though it mostly hurt. I have to thank my pilot for doing a great job of driving, keeping me calm and communicating - he kept me informed of gear changes, course features and checked to make sure that I was okay. Thank you, Mike. I will stoke your tandem again anyday!!
Up next (holy crap!) a weekend of NO RACING. Well, I think so anyway. I haven't looked at the calendar lately. Next Monday (the 31st) is the state 500m and pursuit championship at the track so I plan on doing that stuff. I also see a trip to the driving range in my future.
I finished 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley the other day. A timeless classic. Undecided on what's next. Maybe another classic. We'll see. As always, thanks for reading.
