Title Defended

Just getting back home from defending my PA State Time Trial Championship. I'm happy that I was able to win today, but I can tell from the way my legs feel afterwards that I'm ready for the end of the season (2 more weeks to go!). Then I'll get a nice break off the bike before starting back into cyclocross.

The time trial course itself was actually a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. This year the championship event was held on the Clarks Valley course, which I hear is where the State TT was run for the last 20-or-so years before moving it to Newville a couple of years ago. I got to registration a little late, so I didn't get a chance to pre-ride the course, though I got in a good warmup.

Looking at the profile online, I saw that the course was rolling and slightly uphill the whole way out, then downhill on the way back. Because of this, I decided to take a chance and go harder on the way out; the uphill leg. This was a big gamble because I was risking burning myself out by the turnaround and then having 20km still left to ride back! My plan paid off though; I won by a comfortable margin of almost 3 minutes!

Now it's time to go home, have some burgers and beers, and enjoy the rest of my Labor Day. Hope everyone's doing the same! -- Al