Race radio's

So, I've competed in a few races that were a combined Cat Pro/1/2/3 field this season. Although based on the way I was shredding legs (cycling term for making your competitors legs hurt), I don't think there were too many 'Pro' riders there.

Beings that I was in this field, we were allowed to use race radios. Now I'm not sure yet on how I feel about race radios. Some people whine and cry that it takes a lot of excitement out of the racing. They weep that all the racing is orchestrated by the team car rather than by the racers. That the racers have now become puppets, albiet cool puppets: think the puppets off "Team America." (currently the speakers aren't working on my computer, and I don't read the language that is closed-captioned on that video, so I don't know what they are saying. I'm hoping something cool)

Alright, so we're using the race radios, and I must say I really felt pro. I'm not sure if it was the placebo effect of feeling like a pro, but I felt super strong that day. However, there are some problems with the race radio. One of these is the fact that "Go!" and "No!" sound a lot alike, especially with the wind noise. Unfortunately for my competitors, I heard "Go! Go! Go!" as I was on the front ripping it. What was really being said was "No! No! No!"

I did not look back (lose watts) nor did I slow down (I do not wear a skirt), so I was unaware that I was single handedly blowing up the field (cycling term for causing riders go so hard they wear themselves out too quickly).

This effort separated the strong from the weak. The men from the boys. The macho from the wimpo. So I was in great position to win the race, but this did not occur. Now some of you may be thinking that I worked to hard by staying on the front. Others may be thinking that perhaps my fitness as a Cat 3 was not quite up to par with the "Big Boy's" in the Cat 1/2's. My friends, none of these were the case.

I was clearly the strongest in the group, but I made a rookie mistake. In all my excitement of feeling like a pro, I forgot that I did not actually have a team car and a domestique to bring me food (Payday's and OCP's) and drinks (H2O, Gatorade). That's right, I did not take a feed, and thus the dreaded 'bonk' (cycling term for using up all your energy so you legs just wont move anymore) quickly followed. I had to use all of watt saving strategies to finish with the group.

It's really good to know that my fitness is where it needs to be. Had I eaten properly, I'm sure you all agree that I would have come in first. That's what winners do.

Anyway, I now have a new area that I need to focus on while on the trainer. We have another 1/2/3 race coming up soon, so I'm going to train with my race radio in. I've got two fans in my workout area, and I'm going to crank those up to high in order to simulate road noise. I'm then going to have my buddy pretend he is out of breath, and yell "No!" and "Go!"

I think this will sufficiently prepare me for my upcoming race. Racers beware, I'm coming for ya, and this time I'm going to make sure I eat and drink. Well I'm off to polish the nipples on my wheels. Grease buildup in this area can cause power drainage of 2-3 watts. That's like 46 seconds in a 40K TT.

If you plan on beating me next time we line'em up, you better have clean nipples too.