Third Time Trial: The Suitcase of Courage

Joy here...This afternoon the skies opened up, and we were treated to one heck of a thunderstorm - lighting, thunder, pouring rain - but then it all cleared up, and the skies turned blue just in time for this week's time trial.

Phil and Paul

Now let's back up to 2007 when The Man and I were first dating.  He was (and still is) a big cycling fan, and I figured, "okay, if I'm gonna date this guy, I might as well try to learn a thing or two about cycling" (a sport that I knew nothing about; I kinda thought that bike racing was just about pedalling faster or slower, and I sure didn't know that it was a team sport. I mean, there's only one guy on a bike at a time, right?).  So we sat down one weekend and went through his cycling DVDs...all 28 hours worth of 7 Tours de France in which Lance Armstrong was the overall victor.  And slowly but surely, in that weekend's crash course on cycling, I learned a thing or two, and I began to appreciate the sport.  I still didn't ride a bike (or even own one), but at least I understood the sport (in theory).

Getting the engine started (note:  I'm wearing pink in
honour of Ryder Hesjedal's monumental Giro win!)

And I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I wouldn't have been able to get into the sport, understand the sport, or even watch more than 5 minutes of it had it not been for the amazing commentary of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, or "Phil and Paul" as they're known affectionately in our house.

One of Paul's favourite phrases as he tries hard to express the kind of suffering that a rider is experiencing on the bike is that the rider is "digging deep into the suitcase of courage."

Let me tell you...this afternoon I finally learned what that phrase actually means.

Because of the thundershowers, the day was inordinately humid, and as the sun began to shine in the late afternoon, mist began to rise off the asphalt parking lot where I was warming up for the Time Trial.  I was sweating and feeling like I was back in Malaysia.  I've written before about my pet theory about how it's harder to breathe and be powerful on the bike when the air is thick and humid, and I definitely think that was the case today.

Waiting at the start line to go!

I lined up at the start line, and as the volunteers let go of my bike and I headed out for my last 10km TT (next week we are being bumped up to 15kms), I just couldn't get a good rhythm going.  I felt that I wasn't breathing well, and while I tried to keep my cadence high (turning my pedals faster), every pedal stroke seemed to be a suffer fest.

As this is our last week racing 10kms, and my first time was 17:51 and my second time was 17:13, all I wanted to do this week was break into the 16 minute mark.

As I turned around and started racing hell for leather back for the final 5kms, I told myself to forget about high cadence and breathing, and just pedal my little heart out, and that's what I did.  At the 8km mark, I just clicked my bike into a harder gear (you know how I like the "big ring," hence my nickname), put my head down, and pedalled as hard as I possibly could.  I was digging deep into that suitcase of courage.

I didn't see the finish line.

I didn't see my time.

I didn't even see The Man cheering me on.

I was dead tired, cross-eyed, and utterly spent.  So I noodled along the road until my eyes and legs worked again and I stopped huffing and puffing, and then I turned around and rode my bike back to the car to await the final times.

And guess what?  I placed 3rd overall in the Time Trial and had an average speed of 35.53km/hr, with a final time of 16:59!  Since I made it under 17 minutes...I guess all that digging into the suitcase of courage paid off.

Over and out,
Joy