OKC Velo TT series #1 & NW Arkansas Road Race

The week leading up to this weekend was productive in some ways and not so productive in others. I had been scrounging up parts and pieces to build up the TT frankenbike, but there were a few crucial components that were missing. Also some of the parts I originally planned to use became unavailable so I had to find substitutes. Bottom line, I wasted a lot of riding time getting the bike together.

Training wise the week started out great. I had some good hard training rides Tuesday and Wednesday, but Wed. I woke up in the middle of the night and was positive that I was getting sick. My allergies have been really bad all week. Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's one or the other. I didn't ride at all on Thursday or Friday due to getting the TT bike together and feeling like crap.

The first of 3 time trials was Sat. at lake Overholser. I was feeling a lot better and was excited to get to try out the TT bike. I'm not sure why, but the bike feels like junk warming up on the trainer, but felt good on the road. My choice of wheels was not the smartest due to the windy conditions. I ran a 80mm flashpoint on the front and my powertap wheel on the rear with no aero assistance. The flashpoint wheel was WAY too deep and ended up being a major handful in the crosswinds. I'm going to make a few changes in my stem length and seat position plus try to fabricate a wheel cover for the rear for my next run. I ended up 3rd in the 123's running a 18:58
I REALLY wanted to get a better time, but for a baseline test on a super windy day I'll take it and get faster from there.

So later in the day, the weather got worse as our 8 man Team Undiscovered crew loaded up and headed out to Arkansas for the NWA Classic road race. We opted to go on Sat. and spend the night rather than leave OKC at 4:45 AM like we did at Hells Kitchen.

This is on the race course about a mile from the big hill. It was a cold and windy start, but ended up getting a little sunny and warming up some. The wind on the other hand stayed strong all day.

There is so much to learn racing in the 1/2's. I learn about twice as much in each race compared to racing in the 3's. I felt pretty good all day, but all it takes is one minor error or being in the wrong position and you're off the back chasing to try and get back on. That's what happened to me this time. I think I finished 20something.

So, that's 5 races so far this month.I'm looking forward to having the next weekend off from racing and traveling. I'm also pretty motivated to improve my 1 to 4 minute power which seems to be the biggest weakness right now. The April race series starts in a week and a half with a local crit also in 3 weeks.