The question: what is the last sound Allen makes before entering a cornfield?
Tonight was the final time trial of the 2012 season, and it was interesting in many ways. We had 21 riders total make the event, the largest number all year. We had 7 women, also the largest group yet. Ten riders participated in the time trial, and with a slight headwind, it was a slightly tougher ride than anticipated. However, the times were legit!
As near as I can remember, the order was Roy, Allen, Strunk, Troy, Mike, Galloway, Jimmy, Miller, John T., and me. This order appeared to be just about right because I didn't hear a lot of people speak of being passed. We also managed to bring it in front to back within around 5 minutes, a good target goal.
We allowed one minute between riders, making a total gap of nine minutes between the first and last rider (at the start). This has always seemed the perfect space of time, providing a target for everyone far enough way to be difficult, but not impossible, to catch.
I'll confess I didn't have a lot of confidence I'd do well. I've had to run with the girls the last two days, and as fate would have it, they were hard workouts. Without WinD to lead the hard stuff, I'm forced to take on the task. Yesterday we did Jimmy's heinous quarter/half/quarter/quarter/half/quarter workout, and since I lead it, I ran it harder than I have all summer long. Hey, girls kept with me, so I was forced to push to see what they could do! Today, after evaluating the splits, I decided to piggyback on a tempo run. This too was a challenging run, and so it was with tired legs I arrived at the start of the ride. I guess I'd also add my hard training has been over for a couple of weeks now, so I'm completely out of the race mentality at this point.
I went last - probably as well, because John T. and Miller had both run intervals today at lunch. While that leveled things some for all of us, I still have carried the fastest speed all summer, so though hope was dim for a catch, I resolved to give it my best.
It was not an easy ride. First, the headwind, though light, was noticeable. It wasn't enough to overpower, just enough to slow you down. The secondary effect of the wind was, since it was so dry out, to completely dry out the throat. It got to the point of being difficult to breath because of sinus drainage that hung in the back of a dry throat. Thank goodness I had water in an aero system; those that didn't suffered much more.
I didn't think I'd ever catch John T., but finally, after 6.5 miles, I did. There was no way I would catch Miller. I could see him, but there wasn't enough distance left to get it done. I got close, no more than 100 yards separated us in the end, but that's as close as I could get.
Apparently I missed the excitement. Allen, "Mr. Excitement", decided to get an exact stop on his Garmin. Unfortunately he can't hit the stop button and steer a bike at the same time - he went off road and into the cornfield. It is too bad there was no film on this, because I can promise you it would appear here. That Allen... he's been a veritable gold mine of comedy this summer!
So, what are the results tonight? Let me relay the numbers, in ascending order (speed):
Tonight was the final time trial of the 2012 season, and it was interesting in many ways. We had 21 riders total make the event, the largest number all year. We had 7 women, also the largest group yet. Ten riders participated in the time trial, and with a slight headwind, it was a slightly tougher ride than anticipated. However, the times were legit!
As near as I can remember, the order was Roy, Allen, Strunk, Troy, Mike, Galloway, Jimmy, Miller, John T., and me. This order appeared to be just about right because I didn't hear a lot of people speak of being passed. We also managed to bring it in front to back within around 5 minutes, a good target goal.
We allowed one minute between riders, making a total gap of nine minutes between the first and last rider (at the start). This has always seemed the perfect space of time, providing a target for everyone far enough way to be difficult, but not impossible, to catch.
I'll confess I didn't have a lot of confidence I'd do well. I've had to run with the girls the last two days, and as fate would have it, they were hard workouts. Without WinD to lead the hard stuff, I'm forced to take on the task. Yesterday we did Jimmy's heinous quarter/half/quarter/quarter/half/quarter workout, and since I lead it, I ran it harder than I have all summer long. Hey, girls kept with me, so I was forced to push to see what they could do! Today, after evaluating the splits, I decided to piggyback on a tempo run. This too was a challenging run, and so it was with tired legs I arrived at the start of the ride. I guess I'd also add my hard training has been over for a couple of weeks now, so I'm completely out of the race mentality at this point.
I went last - probably as well, because John T. and Miller had both run intervals today at lunch. While that leveled things some for all of us, I still have carried the fastest speed all summer, so though hope was dim for a catch, I resolved to give it my best.
It was not an easy ride. First, the headwind, though light, was noticeable. It wasn't enough to overpower, just enough to slow you down. The secondary effect of the wind was, since it was so dry out, to completely dry out the throat. It got to the point of being difficult to breath because of sinus drainage that hung in the back of a dry throat. Thank goodness I had water in an aero system; those that didn't suffered much more.
I didn't think I'd ever catch John T., but finally, after 6.5 miles, I did. There was no way I would catch Miller. I could see him, but there wasn't enough distance left to get it done. I got close, no more than 100 yards separated us in the end, but that's as close as I could get.
Apparently I missed the excitement. Allen, "Mr. Excitement", decided to get an exact stop on his Garmin. Unfortunately he can't hit the stop button and steer a bike at the same time - he went off road and into the cornfield. It is too bad there was no film on this, because I can promise you it would appear here. That Allen... he's been a veritable gold mine of comedy this summer!
So, what are the results tonight? Let me relay the numbers, in ascending order (speed):
- Josh - 28:20 - 21.1 mph
- Troy - 27:30 - 21.8 mph
- Roy - 27:20 - 21.9 mph
- Allen "Cornfield" Burris - 26:52 - 22.3 mph
- Jimmy - 26:46 - 22.4 mph
- Mike - 26:41 - 22.4 mph
- Strunk - 26:39 - 22.5 mph
- Galloway - 26:20 - 22.8 mph
- Miller - 25:13 - 23.8 mph
- John T. - 25:08 - 23.9 mph
- IronBill - 23:49 - 25.2 mph
There was an excellent second group that took an easy tour of Amish country west of Highway 37. It was a good time (except for a thrown chain and lack of chivalry! - heh). It's too bad this didn't start earlier in the summer.
Of course we capped it all off with a nice visit to Wendy's, and believe it or not, we actually got served relatively quickly. It was a nice time, especially the part where we ribbed Allen for getting off road.
So another season comes to a close. I hope the group continues to meet on Tuesdays for a while longer - I can't due to practice schedules, but there's no reason why the bulk of the folks couldn't continue on.
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