Iron Horse Classic, Hours 61-85

Monday had an earlier wake-up call than Sunday, since once again we needed time to eat, caffeinate, warm-up and be ready for the Time Trial. Uneventful morning, nice weather again, and Seth and I hit out for about 45 minutes on a warm-up ride. It would have been a great day to ride out to Silverton...

Before I knew it, it was time to listen to the countdown of beeps, signaling the start of my time trial, right on time at 10:15.00. And we're off! The course was pretty rolly at the start, and reminded me of roads back in New Jersey, that roll and twist their way along the rivers. Properly enough, as this road also follow a scenic valley on it's way North. I was going pretty well, but was trying to hold back enough pace, knowing that the crux of the race was the final 1.5 mile climb at the end. It was tough holding pace over the rollers, and on the false flats - which all seemed to have the worst pavement on the course. Before long the final climb came, and it was hard. I think it was "easier" than when we did the pre-ride on Saturday - as in, I went harder and faster, but it wasn't quite as slow as I figured. I did explode nicely just before the end of the steep section, and rolled in to complete the weekend.

Jessica had driven out to pick us up, and to save us the 14 mile ride home... and so we could get out of town with minimal fuss. At least she had a scenic area to hang out in while we pedaled our way to her.


Weather was much better on the way home, other than a strong tailwind... at least it wasn't a headwind, considering the $4+ per gallon gas prices. And at least the scenery helped keep our pilot Seth awake.

There were lots of cows...

Weather was good until Kenosha Pass again, where it started to snow. Switched to rain at the bottom of the pass, and basically poured all the way back to a cold, wet, grey Denver. Just to make the trip complete, it rained and sleeted on the way up to the house, and we even had some thunder and hail that evening.

All in all it was a decent trip, and nice to get out of town for a little bit; taking in some different sites. I'm pretty bummed we didn't get to do the road race, especially for Seth, who hasn't done the Iron Horse road race yet. Speaking of Seth, check out his blog because he's written up a nice review of the weekend from his point of view as well.