Last but not Least

Norfolk, NE sees something that nobody has seen before:
Die Bergziege in a Road Race.
Saturday, the 10th of June at 9:29 am is my start time for my first ever TT: 18 miles...
Pictures are all courtesy of Martin, who did again a great job supporting my race efforts.

The course of the TT was relatively flat but it was windy and I could feel shortly after the start, that I am not used to this kind of racing. MTB racing is so different. You have short, sometimes longer efforts, in the saddle, out of the saddle, tempo changes, direction changes, etc.
This time: one speed= full speed= full effort for the whole 18 miles.
All I can say about this race is, that I went as fast as I could and I kept myself going until I saw the finish line. It took me just under one hour to do that. My longest, high intensity ride on my road bike...I have a new appreciation for PAIN!

These were my last few hundred yards of the TT

After that I got off the bike, with Martin's help and I could barely walk. It felt, like I had a pinched nerve, right where the saddle touches the inside of my right thigh. I could not bend down, sit down,..., I could barely move: OUCH!!!
We (Martin) packed up the bike and got something to eat and I took some vitamin I (ibuprofen). After lunch, we drove out to the starting point of the road race. At that point, I thought, there is NO WAY, I will get back on that torture machine again today...but Martin had taken his new road bike and wanted to get some exercise in. So Mr. Whiskers and I settled down under a nice shade giving tree for a nap and Martin went for his ride.

I woke up about an hour later, hearing the announcer say that it is time to sign in for the road race. I started to move around and finally got up very slowly...no pain. So far so good, should I race? Another 32 miles or should I just call it quits?
I decided to take a little test ride to see how that would feel and it felt fine.
Darn it! There went my excuse, not to race.
Martin still wasn't back, so I couldn't have him talk me out of it either. Not that he would have.
So, I walked over to the sign-in sheet and put my initials next to my number 208.
I just signed up for 32 miles of road race, after doing a TT in the morning.
Why, I don't know. I was just asking for pain, I guess:)

Martin finally showed up, minutes before the start and reported that the course was very smooth and had no steep hills. Oh goody!! I felt so much better now and could even smile for the camera.
Off we went and I managed for about 15 minutes to stay with the pack...
after that, it was just me and the road:



And yes, Martin was right, for the most part, the road was very smooth and there weren't any steep hills, but there were nothing but hills and WIND, headwind to be exact. Why would it blow from behind!? Well, truth to be told at mile xy, the course turned back towards the start/finish and that's when the wind changed. That was only after I had once almost been blown over by cross winds, after a smelly cattle truck had passed me at a 100 miles/hr.


Martin and Mr. Whiskers followed me around and besides taking these pictures they helped me keep going.
I came really close a few time to stop and get off my bike BUT I DID NOT.

32 miles by myself battling the wind, the road, the pain, the wish to just stop, the thoughts of, why am I doing this to myself, what is this good for??

2 hours and 20 something minutes gives you a long time to "struggle with yourself".

All I can say is, I WON, even though, I came in last.

my biggest fan:)