SANDY HOOK — time to get there
BY KENNETH LUNDGREN
So Sandy Hook is here… The Bad: I missed pretty much the first three weeks of March with nasty bout of the flu. Was WRECKED. Took a recovery week before a CRCA race on 3/6, raced well, then kablamo sick… Tried to start being productive this past SAT and SUN again, finally healthy, and SAT was a nightmare and SUN was bad but getting better…
Funny story: in early March, I was at the tennis club, helping run the WED Pee-Wee class (ages 4-6, can you imagine the chaos?). Little Charlie sneezes, rather violently.
Ken: “Charlie, did you just sneeze?”
Charlie: “Nope.” And then he proceeds to start “eating” one of the foam tennis balls… Sometimes I wish I lived in a bubble, lol…
But it is what it is. I don’t get sick often, so it’s better to get sick now and not in June…
The Good: The weight is good. Not so important for a time trialist, but I ride better at 150, 152 pounds, and already I’m close to race weight… And I feel healthy right now. Strong, ehhh not the right adjective, but I feel healthy. Sandy Hook is a nothing goal, but it IS a time trial and I’m not in the mood to get beheaded.
But that’s probably what’s going to happen. Have two super fast dudes starting right in front of me. 20 year old Nick Iacovelli of Colavita, strong roadie, strong time trialist. Starts 1m in front. Took 2nd in State TT last year (behind Hilsman). Has already won an Augusta Training Race this year. Did well at Lancaster, Bear Mountain, Catskills (yes, I’m a coach so I try to know my competition well!)…
And then there’s Freifelder, going off 30s in front. Will probably never see him again. Guy is STRONG these days. When I was a cripple last year, he was winning TTs, nearly won Sandy Hook, won Bear Mountain, was killing it at Augusta, dominated the Giro (with a STRONG TT performance), rocked the Fitchburg TT, then scored numerous podiums this winter in cross… So, yes, as a realist I can say so long Mr. Freifelder 🙂 For me, it’s better to have the fast guys in front.
More fast guys in the Senior P123: Dave Martin of Ideal Tile, Angelo Mascelli of High Gear, Zeb of Van Dessel, Jason Walters of Guardian, who will probably win the class (and these are only the guys I’ve seen in person in action…)… And my humble TT crystal ball is usually pretty spot-on 🙂
But I’m ready. Some guys love training and have problems finding their best on the road. I’m not like that. I love to train, but moreso I yearn to find my best while competing. And that’s what time trials are all about: finding that special effort, reaching a new condition, finding something you never knew you had. I’m not near100% form right now, and my power files are NOT encouraging, but I’m REALLY amped up, and a motivated bike racer can be a fast bike racer. I’m being positive as I sit here and hoping to find a respectable effort for SAT… I’ve been out of racing for 2+ years, coming back from a shattered knee, so I really have no reason to feel like this, but I’m 100% confident in my ability to suffer and make the most of the current situation…
If you know you can do something, GO OUT THERE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN. Nobody gives you (*censored*)(*censored*)(*censored*)(*censored*) in this sport – you have to go out and take it, make it yours. I know I’m going to ride to my limit and I know I’m going to go fast. The key is who is going to ride harder and faster than me. The effort… is up to you… Be confident, leave it all on the road, and good things will happen. This is the beauty of the Race of Truth: if you’re on a good day and actually ride to your true potential, you’re guaranteed a solid result, no matter what “solid” means for each and every rider… Whether it’s 10th or 4th, I just want to be satisfied with my ride before I see any times or leaderboard results…
Rock and roll, everybody… Round 1 in less than 48 hours.
P.S. Don’t laugh, but I’ll be on my stealth black original TT bike on SAT… I’ve been fiddling with the Specialized Transition, and it’s a beautiful bike, but I am just faster and stronger on my original bike… I KNOW the Transition might be 2m faster in a 40k, but right now I don’t have the time nor the patience to play around with positions, etc… So, I’m going to post this first in this diary: I’m selling my 54 cm Specialized Transition TT frame, complete with Sram Red and carbon cranks with 55t Sram chainring… Make me a reasonable offer and you’ll have one of the fastest TT framesets on the market…
