First Bike Test, it could have been worse

So, I had my bike time trial today. It didn't go as swimmingly as the run did yesterday, but I think I still got a good workout and learned from it. That's all I can ask for.

I should have taken it as an omen when I dropped my bike loading it into the car, knocking the chain loose. I got to the trail parking lot and had to get my chain back on and get dressed to ride. Needless to say, I was already dirty and a little frustrated from the get go. Add to that the fact that I had never ridden on this trail before and I was setting myself up for disaster.

So I started from a dead stop just past an intersection, that made it easy to start at a specific location while also starting my watch at the correct time. I wasn't able to get into a rhythm immediately because I ran into successive intersections and had to at least slow to check traffic. After the first 2 miles, I was passed most of the intersections and got into a good flow for the next 2 miles, rolling comfortably at 22mph, it was the highlight of the ride. Around the 4 mile mark, my momentum came to an immediate end and the next 3.35 miles were frustrating to say the least.

For background, I live in Cincinnati where 20 inches of snow fell over the weekend. The weather took a springlike turn immediately after the blizzard and it began melting quickly. I figured the paths would be clean since roads and most concrete lots had not only melted, but dried. I was wrong, the last 3+ miles of the route still had substantial coverage in patches, so I had to slow and maneuver through. Finally, I cut my TT short ending at 7.35 miles because I hit the downtown of a small city outside Cincy and there was heavy traffic. I decided it would be better to end before I had to deal with the variable of traffic.

So, here are the numbers:
Distance: 7.35miles
Time: 24:00
Pace: 18.38mph
Avg HR:154

I thought my HR was high for the percieved effort, but if I took into account accelerations after slowdowns and frustration, it makes sense. My speed was slower than I hoped, but it leaves room for improvement. I am hoping to complete the path in between 20.5 to 21mph by my last TT before my A race after looking at the nature of the route.

Some positive takeaways: I felt great on my aerobars, my cooldown was comfortable and my spinning felt very smooth. Oh yeah, and I got outdoors again.

My swim test is tommorrow morning, report to follow.