There’s a new team in town. They’ve only been around for about a year and a half, and they are certainly making their presence more known. The bright orange team helmets help with that!
COS Racing is hosting a free five race time-trial series on a “Colorado flat” course in Fountain. The first race on January 23rd couldn’t have had better conditions for January in Colorado. As my race season is starting, hopping in on this for an early season benchmark seemed like the right thing to do. And it forced me to dust off my Trek Speed Concept, as the sooner I get back on “Tachyon” and remember how to ride fast(ish) on it, the better!
I signed up for a 10:11 start time, so got there about an hour before my start. There were a few cars already parked and a couple trainers set up. Other cyclists were arriving, some doing the TT and some just out to ride to take advantage of the fantastic weather!
Across from the parking lot, the race organizers set up a table so I walked over to sign the waiver and check in. There behind me was my new friend and YMCA triathlon colleague Hollis, who snagged the start time right behind mine, and was one of the four (I think) women to ride. (Let’s get out there, ladies!) The time slots ahead of me were all guys I would have to chase, knowing that Hollis would be chasing me down!
Since this would be day #2 of me riding this bike not on a trainer, and day #4 on the bike since last summer, I opted to warm-up on the roads for another confidence boost. Next time I’ll follow my formal training plan! After a probably-not-long-enough warm-up, I made a stop at port-o-potty that was conveniently across the street at a construction site, and rolled over to the start. I will admit there were some nerves even though this wasn’t a real race. (I had memories of the last time trial I raced and I had a start time 30s behind Julie Dibens and got to chase the Dream Crusher.)
At 10:11 or there-abouts, I was off and my heart rate was quickly up in the “audible breathing” zone. The initial half-mile or so had some rough spots and some curves, but then it opened up into pretty smooth road and I mostly settled into my aerobars. I was warned at the start about a potential dog, but maybe it caught a guy in front of me. I made it to the turn-around, which had a few volunteers to help watch for traffic and make sure we went around the cone in the road. The course is an out-and-back, with the finish not being quite all the way back to the start.
While overall the course is flat, it’s slightly downhill on the way out, and slightly uphill on the way back, and you can definitely tell. Hold on legs! At least I was getting more comfortable going fast-ish in my aerobars. The finish wasn’t manned (Strava is being used for times) and was simply a small sign on bright green paper that said “Finish.” I passed this and thought to myself, Oh, maybe I should slow down now…
I rolled back into town, watched the start of a few guys on the Team TT race, and chatted with a some others on the team before they headed out to do the ride known as “The Fountain Loop.” I also got to chat with Pam Haines, one of the board members. There are some really dedicated people working on making COS Racing a great team for everyone. They have various levels of riders, from club to elite levels, and support both mountain bike and road racing. They even were the community team behind the Rocky Mountain State Games triathlon.
If you ride and are in Southern Colorado, check out COS Racing. If anything, hop in one of the remaining four free time trials!
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