Today was my first Time Trial on the bike.
11.27 miles all out.
I much prefer to be On the Road, as I read long ago from Kerouac, but a trainer and a computer wasn't so bad. I was anxious - I road this thing with another cyclist that competes with a local cycling team. We got all set-up, each of us had large screen monitors tethered to our bikes that output all the vital stats: MPH, heart rate, cadence, watts, etc. It was a true test of ones cardiovascular system.
Of the group of guys that did this before me the best time was 29:05. I've never done anything like it. I started out a little slower than the guy next to me, but at mile 3 I closed my eyes, stopped watching the monitor, and put myself out of the situation, focusing on nothing. My Zen approach was lost when sweat covered my glasses and I had to take them off. My blindness is always a minor hindrance.
I re-entered the world at mile 9. Sustained 24 MPH for most of the duration. Finished at 28:39. The last few miles hurt - my heart rate was 180bpm for more than 20 minutes. I finished at 27 mph with a heart rate of 185bpm.
Then I packed up, threw my bike in the car, drove home, showered, hugged my kids and told them all about it, then went to while away my hours as an accountant. Not the normal start to my day.
Cycling like that is a pain threshold test. Simply human performance. No poetry to it.
Tomorrow morning: swim.
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