So how did it go?
Really well is the answer, the bike was spot on. I have to admit though that I committed a few rookie mistakes. The mistakes were on my behalf though rather than the bike, so that is all good.
My mistake was essentially around pacing. For this ride I took the classic Ironman training route of heading down the Freeway South Cycleway. 65km one way of uninterrupted cycleway makes it perfect. From my place I don't have to do a U-Turn for 80km. The only problem with the Cycleway is it runs due north-south and if you have a head wind in one direction you have it for a really, really, really long time.
I chose the route because, as I have said, it is perfect for Ironman training, but also because it would allow me to spend a lot of time on the aerobars, time which I desperately need.
A solid headwind in one direction is the situation I found myself in today. Actually, I just checked the weather observations and the conditions were slightly worse than I thought. It appears that I had a weak head wind to start which became a slight tail wind and I traveled South. However, once I turned to ride North again that weak tail wind became an ever increasing head wind. The dreaded double headwind scenario. That would explain a lot about how I am feeling now.
Anyway, the upshot of those conditions is that I felt great on the outward leg and possibly pushed a bit too hard in my new bike exuberance. Turning around and having to fight a headwind for the next 65km absolutely shattered me. By the time I reached the 140km mark I was spent. I had been doing 10 minute efforts, which I got through, but I have to admit that my last one was a bit of a whimper. I made it through the final 40km, but it really hurt me to do it. I did not finish the ride feeling great.
Overall the ride went well. Most of the efforts were on the mark and the final speed and power figures were good. However, I suspect that with better pacing it could have been better, I was fading fairly hard by the end.
While I struggled, the bike went great. I haven't been on a TT bike for months and so my back got a bit sore, but it usually would on a road bike over 180km too. Back and hamstring flexibility is something I am going to have to work on before Ironman Taiwan. I should be all good for 90km next week though. I was very comfy on the aerobars though which is good and by the end of 180km I was feeling fairly comfortable with the bikes handling. It really does handle like a roadie. I got the guys at Churchill to tweak the aerobar extensions on Thursday and riding it today I think the position is spot on now. The bike has an aggressive front end, but I haven't really been feeling uncomfortable on it. The ride was good for checking a few other elements of the set up like storage etc and I think I am fairly happy with it now. There might be a few tweaks over the coming months, but I think it is about right heading into Challenge Iskandar Puteri.
More riding in the morning with a final check up brick on the plan. The weather for the morning is looking a bit questionable, but hopefully it all works out. Time will tell.
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