Sunday, May 27, 2007

the woes of the TTT

Ok...so I need some help! My bike and I have had a blissful relationship. Granted, it's only been going on 10 months...almost 11, so maybe we haven't had time to hit all the rough spots yet. We've been through so many firsts together, beautiful challenging rides, centuries, a week of camp, my first and only win, good finishes, bad finishes, but I always end the days looking forward to the next ride. The bike is my escape from the woes of the regular world, the things in life I can't control so much. It gives me great joy to fly down those descents, to give all I have to gain a new PR, to win a sprint, or even to lose if I'm giving it everything I've got! I give it TLC, and it rewards me many times over. Even the new TT bike has given me some fun as of late. I had a great time riding it to a win in our club TT (ok...so I got 25th overall...but still managed to win the women's division, and finish mid-pack in the men), and it made me feel fast at Kern.

So why, then, am I sitting here dreading getting on the bike tomorrow? I strongly dislike TTT practice. It gets me stressed out just thinking about it, and after about an hour of practice, this muscle in my back/hip starts to scream loudly as well. I think its because the TTT brings out the weaknesses in my riding, and I hate feeling vulnerable and bad at things. It's one thing to not stick on a wheel in a race...but in a TTT, well, its kind of essential. And turning tight turns on the TT bike at speed..hmmm (thinking about dropping my chain in that TT last week). And descents when you have to follow someone's wheel AND stay aero AND not brake (normally descending is my flat out favorite thing on the bike, and people seem to think I'm pretty talented in that department). All of these things that I didn't have to think about before on the TT bike, because I wasn't riding around anyone else! The TTT just accentuates all weaknesses, and I don't like it one bit! I need to find something positive about the TTT and try to do a complete attitude adjustment this week....as this week is all about the TTT. Next week I can get back to the riding I love, and me and my bike can re-aquaint (for a couple days, then I leave it again to go to Paris).

In my desire to become a better (and faster) cyclist, I'm leaving the ego out to dry, and trying as hard as I can to look for something beneficial in the TTT....

but right now, climbing a mountain just seems so much easier.

Ciao!

8 comments:

dr-nitro said...

It's a challenge. A new problem to solve. Tackle it.

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

good perspective...:-)
I'll have to see what I can do by our next practice on Wednesday!

Gary said...

I don't have TTT experience but I have to imagine that if you pretend that you are in a fast training group ride with pace-lining that you will be just fine. Stay focussed, ride hard and have fun. Just tell yourself over and over and over that TT'ing is fun and easy, fun and easy.

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

fun and easy
fun and easy
:-)
fun and easy
ok. ill let you know if it works!
Thanks!
oh--and congrats on Mt. Ham! Sounds like you had a great ride.

dr-nitro said...

I'm not sure that easy is ever an appropriate adjective when describing any time trial, especially TTT's. However, fun can be had, in a very painful way. It's about skill, judicious application of torque, and skill. Inevitably, some will be stronger than others. And, if it is not you, it will hurt. If it is you, you will hurt others. The key is that the strong ones pull longer, not necessarily harder. Again, judicious application of torque.

You'll also want to see what rider gets the time. If it is the fourth, then clearly all need to finish together. If it is the third, then start to pick up the pace toward the end until one person drops. It may seem cruel, but if you finish with all your riders, you are probably not going as fast as you can.

Again, there's fun to be had, but it ain't easy. But, if it were easy, where would the reward come from?

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

dr-nitro: ITs the third rider that gets the time. I know it sounds mean to drop a teammate..but i think you're right, in order to get a good time it has to happen... I don't know enough about everyone's power, etc. to know exactly as much about things as I would like..but I do know that there is a bit of a fitness jump between rider 3 and 4, and so we'll ahve to see how it shakes out. I am guessing I"ll be hurting, as well as dishing out some hurt, since if I have to look objectively at the situation, I sit a tad behind my one teammate as the 2nd strongest. But I have a more aero setup right now, so that might make the difference. We're very close in strength....she would beat me on a climb, but this race is flat, and my power/muscle is improving.

What do you know...as soon as I start to think of it as a strategy game, it becomes more fun...!

Then again, you've known this all along, which is why you posted your first response...

dr-nitro said...

Bingo

dr-nitro said...
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