Ok so some of you may have heard I broke my hand and tore a few ligaments first of Dec which are still healing too this day so my mtb time has been reduced to race day only and only the important races to boot. So I did absolutely nothing for 2 months after breaking my hand, followed by one month of pure running then another month of indoor cycling with the V on a trainer. About a month ago I started riding my DF bike with the same noon/racer group I used for practicing on the V last year. I also came across a smoking deal on garmin vector pedals and have been messing around with those for a couple weeks on the DF bike. This passed weekend I finally removed the V from the trainer and took it out on it's first outdoor ride since last Novembers race.
The serious racer group dynamics have change somewhat from last year after they've had the chance to get to know me on the DF bike for a full month strait. The riders all know me as a semi regular at this point and know I can bring some serious speed on a good day. There's really only a core group of about 5 riders who are as fast as me and can help pull the group in a regular rotation. The other 20-30 riders do their best to leach off the fast guys for as long as possible with about 10 of them hanging on for a finish sprint at the end of the flatter days. On Monday and Thursday which have the big climbs it's only those 5 riders at the front with everyone quickly falling off and forming B and C groups.
Monday just before the Noon ride was the first time I tried rolling on the V and thank god I was able to get started and roll out of the shop like I never took any time away from it. Once up to speed I did find I was slightly more unstable then I had liked, but it being spring there's a lot more wind this time of year and Monday was a very windy day. Monday starts with a bit of flat into a long gradual DH into a some small rollers, then a hard 20 min climb into a very fast and narrow DH back to the start. For the first couple miles I hung out off the rear gathering my recumbent skills trying to get to a point where I could ride a strait enough line so riders could safely draft me. Right before the start of the gradual DH I passed all 30 riders and slotted right onto the front so they could draft me as best they could.
I'm not sure if only a half dozen riders latched on or if the whole group did because whoever was right behind me was RIGHT BEHIND ME! and blocking my view in the mirror. With my compact crank I can't out pedal the other riders but once it comes down to pure coasting I watch them slowly fall back at 1 mph at a time while still in my draft. I made sure to keep my speed in check so I wouldn't drop the rider directly behind me, but still after 4 miles it was only me, my buddy Frank and one other. with everyone else was completely out of sight. Once we hit the first roller the third rider fell off so me and Frank just kept a brisk talking pace until the start of the big climb. Once we started the big climb Frank moved into the lead to help break some of the stiff headwind before the group finally came back into sight. Once they caught up I went back to the front and did my best to pull them along.
There's a couple steep 15% kickers in the climb so the other 6 riders would stand and creep passed me as I gasped for air. We would go back and forth several times as the grade of the climb changed but during the last 1/2 mile when it gets really steep and just stays steep, 4 riders got passed with and I was only able to hold off 2 of the weaker riders. Once at the summit you could really feel the wind howling over the hill so I knew it was going to be pushing me around on the DH. No regroup at the top so it was Frank way out front 200 yards ahead already and the other 3 about 100 yards ahead of me. Once up to speed which was 44 mph going into a 20 or so mph headwind I started to quickly catch the 3 riders ahead of me. They only hit 37mph according to their gps so I flew passed them at around 7 mph faster giving them zero change of drafting. A couple mins later I did the same to Frank and I continued to coast onto the long flat at the end for what felt like forever until they finally caught back up. I was glade to have passed the riders fast enough so they couldn't draft me because the wind was pushing me all over the place. The V still climbs like a 25lb stuffed pig when compared to the 15 DF bikes but it's a demon on a strait DH.
Tuesday's ride is much flatter when compared to Mondays ride but it still isn't Florida flat. The plan was to sit out front and pull the group into setting a new KOM for a 17 mile Strava segment that has gone unbroken since 2010. I have the newer Garmin edge 520 which shows live segment timing and will compare your current pace against the KOM leaders pace. It's very cool how it lets you know your exact seconds ahead or behind the KOM at every moment and it's not just against the KOM's avg speed ether. It's based on the exact data points so it shows me start to fall behind in some areas but pull ahead in others.
I started the ride at the rear again because I rolled out of work late, this meant I wasn't able to get to the front until a few miles into the segment due to the echelon crossing the whole lane. Once I got to the front I set a brisk pace I could hold without issue but was also something the group shouldn't have any issues with rotating behind me if done correctly. It wasn't long before I heard Frank right behind me joking about how I wasn't pushing hard enough. Due to my garmins placement and angle he could clearly read all the data from my screen even with it set to display 10 data fields at once. I had a good laugh as he read off all my power and HR readings in real time and pointed out he was putting out about 20 watts more then me while in my draft. I'd say only about 4-5 riders rotated behind me before someone who was too weak to keep up or just wanted to drop the group back got rotated in and then all I could see was the group slowly fade away.
The route is a gradual climb for the first half then a gradual descent all the way back so I figured they'd try and catch me at the top. Into the last mile of the climb I still couldn't see anyone behind me so I kept from pushing too hard, then finally right before the top I could see 5-6 riders giving it their all to close the gap. Once they got onto my wheel I started to reset my pace in line with the KOM on my garmin which was currently 25 seconds ahead of me with 8 miles to go. The day the rider set the KOM must have been windy in the opposite direction because I wasn't really cutting into his lead at all as I watched the miles tick away. Over the last small roller with about 7 miles to go I had dropped everyone but Frank so I picked up the pace a little more. I wanted to try and shave off a second or so a min but it looked like I was going to drop Frank as well at any moment so it was becoming a fine balance. I was finally able to catch the KOM ghost and pull a 13 second lead on him before Frank finally said he was fried and dropped off. I knew the KOM was set in this very noon ride 5 years ago so the final mile was going to get very fast with 20 riders all sprinting to the finish working together. After Frank dropped I started pushing 350-400 watts to try and hold onto my small lead but the headwind wasn't going to make things easy. With my legs burning and me struggling to get enough air as I watch my 13 second lead fade away 12, 11, 10, 9 , 8. Every 100 yards I was loosing another second even though I was giving it my all. I watched my lead drop to zero with 1/4 mile to go but I wasn't going to give up yet. I kept pushing as hard as I could looking up at the sky to keep my wind pipe open and finally my garmin sounded the victory chime letting me know I had broken the 39:45 record by a mere 4 seconds. I'm sure if I go out there on my own and don't try and drag the group along I could go even faster so maybe I'll give that a shot one day.
Tomorrows ride will be the hardest when compared to the DF bikes due to the style to climbs but overall I'd say I'm probably already faster then I was last year before the 24hr so now I can just focus on building from here. Everyone's been friendly this past month but we'll see how long that lasts now that I'm back on the V.
