Back from Camp and first race of the year

I just got back from racing and training in the Las Vegas area. I was planning on doing the TT and RR at the Callville Bay Classic this year and then getting in 4 good training days in the desert. The TT was a late start for me and conditions were ideal for fast times. I got in a so-so warm-up, but every indication was that I had pretty good form. The TT is about 10 minutes uphill with an average grade of 3-4%. I did a similar effort the week before and did not think I would have any trouble holding something better than CP12. Turns out I barely held CP90 for the effort and had a terrible finish. I have no idea what happened, my legs said one thing and the power meter said something totally different. It was the strangest TT of my career. Thankfully it was a C race and no big deal. I got to the parking lot for the Saturday RR and it was raining pretty hard, was 45 degrees and the wind was blowing at 15mph. I wussed out and went to the west side of Vegas and rode for a couple of hours in the dry. In retrospect I wish I had raced, but 70 miles in that stuff may have pushed me over the edge and ruined the rest of the trip.

The next day was a ride in Death Valley where we did a new climb up to Daylight Pass (I believe we technically stopped at a place called Hell's Kitchen). I had great legs and held the same power for the forty minute climb that I held for the 10 minute TT..... The next day we road from east Vegas to Hoover Dam. This was a 3 hour round trip and other than the traffic on 93, was really nice. Tuesday consisted of a bike fit on the TT bike with Endurocoach Greg Choat who is one of the top Retul guys around. He fit me before my first tunnel trip, but that was a different bike and two tunnel visits ago. The fit was incredibly comprehensive and I now have a lot of gym work to do. I am hoping that these modifications will bring my road and TT bike power closer together.

After the fit it was the ever popular Red Rock Canyon ride. It was cloudy and cool, but I continue to have great legs. Finally, on Wednesday we left from the house and got in 70 miles through Lake Meade and into the Vally of Fire finishing at White Domes. This has to be one of the most beautiful rides in the country and when you have great legs it is even better. Coach got a nice video of the last few minutes of the ride in which you get some idea of the scenery. You can check out the video here Valley of Fire Youtube clip.

I flew back Thursday and managed to get out Friday with only a little rain and threw some nice numbers. I got in an ErgVideo session (which I hope to review soon) on Saturday and then a 1 X 60 at 93% on the E-motions today. Training is going really well and the new S-Works Roubaix SL3 is really an enjoyable ride. I am hoping to race the Dalton Georgia Cup race in a few weeks, but tons of work travel have to take place between then and now.

-Peace