At the Cleves Time Trial, Scott and I (MC Hewning) looked damn good crossing the line! Half zips turned full, and the numbers came rolling in.
The Cleves TT is one of the longest running bike races around. Going over rolling hills and false flats, the 10.2 mile course proves challening to every rider. Scott and I approached the race conservatively. We both had pretty low expectations – claiming that we were “climbers” and “built all wrong.”
When we registered I was surprised to see so many fully decked out TT bikes. I had no idea that so many people were interested in time trialing in Cincinnati. I actually felt a little foolish sitting on my track bike amongst racers with disc wheels and aero helmets.
The race starts off with the slower racers and worked it’s way down to the faster guys with 30 second intervals between each start. We started 17th and 18th which put us right in the middle of the pack.
The only advise we had was not to kill it from the start. A friend told us to give it a couple of minutes before going all out. Alas, I tried to stay calm on the first stretch of road. Eventually I was nervous that I was going too easy and begin picking up the pace. I don’t really remember anything else except venhilaritory threshold panting. A passed the line, yelled my number, and watched Scott roll through in a similiar fashion.
We waited around for out times and were very pleased when the organizers announced them. Scott came out with 25:22 and I had 24:51, which gave us 11th and 9th overall. Not bad for a couple of scronny guys against slipstream body builders.
More about cleves time trial at QCW.org.