Cornhusker TT report

So, another one is in the books. The 2010 Cornhusker State Games TT was held Saturday out at the venerable Yutan course. Wanna hear about it?

Hot! Musta been about 80F at 9 AM. Brudder Veloer junior Zach Lau and El Guapo sacked up and represented Xtreme Wheels/Velo Veloce. Somewhere around 70 total showed up to race. Most Cat 5s, only a couple of 1/2s.

Zach was one of the first to launch. No mercy for the juniors. They had to go the entire course! Zach pounded pavement and earned 2nd place in Junior's 13-15 age group. Verrrrryy nice effort, young padwan. I collected your hardware for ya!

I warmed up on the Pinarello, fearing a flat on my tubulars during warmup. My only gimmick was my heart rate monitor. Then switched bikes to the Orbea TT rocket. I pulled up to start line. Nancy dialed me into the right lane, Ryan held me up and Kevin counted me down. I took off like a scalded dawg. My 30 second man behind me was none other than Dan "the Man" Ertz, fresh off his State crit title. No time to look over the shoulder. Gulp!

I laid down some scorched earth in the first half. Wind was STRONG out of the south, right in our faces. So most the gains would be in the tuff 1st half of the race. Caught my 30 second man and one minute man, then started working my way thru Cat 5s. Turn around point was manned by none other than Midtown Joe Savoie. He screamed something as I made the turn, but I haven't the foggiest idea what. By now, the ticker had been steadily pounding at 170 to 173 bpms. Ugly hard into the wind was finally over. Sped back up with the wind at my back now, still pulling hard. BPMSs go down to high 160's. Driven by need for speed. This was my first true TT with the new Orbea and aero Easton EC 90 TT wheels (thanks Sean and Jason at BPedalers). Needed to prove that all the dinero was good investment.

Started to go deep into red zone. Watching pavement under bike so intently, lost in the fog of pain, that all of a sudden I'm off on the shoulder, spraying rocks and white knuckling the profile bars. Managed to fight it off and back up onto the pavement without getting splattered in the ditch. Disaster averted. Later, started drifting from one side of lane to the other, sure sign that your burning all your matches. There it is! The water tower of Yutan in the distance, a sure sign the HELL is almost over. Just another mile or two to go.

Fly over the finish line and reign in the sled. Nothing left in the tank, nada, nilch, nein, ZERO. Barely got unclipped. Felt like the Hindenburg going up in flames. No slow cool down ride. Stumble up to the old Mercedes wagon, plop my sorry buns in the well-placed soccer chair. Punished again. Not Ironman pain, but totally fried. Sit stone-like in the chair. Abe in the Lincoln Memorial got nuthing on you, babe, got nuthing on you. Statue still for 20 minutes. Only the eyeballs moving indicate there is life in the body. Zach and dad Randy drive by. They're bailing out early. Zach performs one last favor for team meat, err team mate, Guapo. Pulls my drenched skinsuit down over my shoulders from behind, as I didn't have the energy to do it myself. SAVED my life, he did. (yoda like language, eh?).

Finally, drag my carcass to the cooler in the car and swirl some nectar of the Gods...a Diet Coke. Life itself again courses thru my systems. Back from the brink of death itself. I have evolved from my amoeba like form, all the way to Cro-Magnon man. I make my way to the clubhouse, knuckles dragging on the gravel, stupid looking, to wait for results.

So, the results are in and not to shabby. El Guapo diesels in for the 3rd best time fo the day, bested by two tadpoles. I pull out the Gold Medal in Cat 4. Woo-hoo, another goal for the year achieved. Here are the final times for Zach and El Guapo:

Male Jr. Men 13-15 Years
Place Bib # Last Name First Name Racing Age Elapsed Time Avg MPH
1 239 Skiba Cole 15 1:13:33 17.38
2 238 Lau Zach 15 1:32:31 13.81

Male USCF Cat 4
Place Bib # Last Name First Name Racing Age Elapsed Time Avg MPH
1 275 Duryea Peter 53 0:50:46 25.17
2 276 ERTZ DAN 39 0:53:28 23.90
3 274 Dixon Michael 43 0:54:14 23.56