All systems go!

Today I slept in again and then packed the car for a final ride of the time trial course with Scott. We met at his house and rode our bikes over to the course. It was absolutely beautiful out today, sunny and high 70s. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was out on their bikes today, especially around the Cherry Creek reservior where the race takes place. Scott and I rolled through the start and then began alternating sections of the course at race pace. We had some decent headwinds and crosswinds all day but I had the everyday wheels on so I didn't get blown around too much. The ride over was a good warm up and I picked right up to 27-30mph during the first pull. The next few pulls on the outbound leg were a steady 30-33mph. I was passing other riders so fast I had to make sure to give plenty of room since I'm sure no one was expecting race pace pulls and I was laid out in the aerobars working hard. After the one significant hill on the course I worked on a couple technical areas including the very fast (30mph+) entrance to the 180 degree turnaround and a couple fast tight turns where you can't cross the double yellow. We cruised on the way back for a bit and then Scott suggested one last pull to the finish. Away we rode on a long pull across the finish line going between 26 and 32mph. The efforts felt really good and I'm ready to race now. I don't know how fast I'm going to go or how competitive I will be but soon I'll find out. For now I'm going to ride the time trial bike the next couple days to get more comfortable on it. Wednesday after work we'll pack up the bike, gear, race wheels and trainer and go find out how well my winter miles have paid off.