Cycling - The Racing Post

Cycle Logic - The Tour de Gruene 2009

By Diana North

My first team time trial jump started a list of questions, and a few answers. For years I used every excuse to talk myself out of any kind of racing. Things like, I’m too old, not fast enough and might end up in a body cast. Then I got talked into signing up for the two-person time trial at Tour de Gruene.

And then the questions started. Could I really do this? Would I disappoint my new teammate? How should I train? Would I embarrass myself? This was all about having fun, right? Without answers to any of these questions, I got more questions from my cycling buddies.

What kind of gearing did I have on my Litespeed? Would I be using aerobars? Did I have any idea how hilly it was in Gruene? Where would I practice rotating and climbing with my teammate? Did I know about the big hill? I asked questions right back. Was my 12-25 gearing good enough? Just how big was that hill? How long should our pulls be? What about preparing for climbs when we were so used to flats? What was the course like?

Luckily my cycling friends have plenty to say about anything related to riding a bike. Many of them were helpful and encouraging. One of them even sacrificed his own rides to accompany and coach us as we trained. Lots of advice came our way. But at least one of them was determined to make sure I knew what I was in for. I got one email comparing the local bridges to “pimples on the butt” of the one I’d face on the course—and I felt the first tingle of nervousness.

Arriving in Gruene and driving the course helped. But I still worried about traffic on the course.

Riding part of it the next day helped even more. But I’d need to be careful on those bridge crossings. Still, by the time we queued up and things got rolling I felt ready. I had one last stomach flip-flop as we pushed our bikes onto the starting ramp.

Was this crazy or what?

But by the time we approached the hill on race day, I was smiling. So what if while climbing I sounded like a chugging train? I got to the top and thought, “Yeah, baby.”

Barreling down the other side was a thrill. Curving along the Guadalupe River in the shade of tall trees was what bikes were made for.

All too soon, it was over. By the time we caught our breath, we’d already agreed we’d do this again next year. That left one last question—is it too soon to sign up for the next time trial?

Check it Out

Team Time Trial Blitz Women 60-89 (17-19 mph)

Kuliska and Lippman 1:21:35 20.08 (average)
Gibson and Trent 1:24:51 19.30 (average)
Gutierrez and North 1:25:11 19.23 (average)
Walker and Alessi 1:33:23 17.54 (average)