TTT and scary T-storm

This was all just happening more spontaneous as Py likes thing to go... some Emails Thursday evening from Craig and Chris inviting Py to get on there three rider Team Time Trial team for the upcoming Kreb Friday Night Race. Cool thing, let's do this. Well, that some what catalyzed the barrier for Py finally to get this US Cycling License to ride. Decided and done.

Friday started out at about 7am with a nice good moving ride to the Camp, nice warm and dry -- so far, but as he was about a mile or two from the North Gate of the Camp still just on 25 it got dark and some thick drops of rain hit his face, just seconds later it was poring, Argrrr. A bit soaked he got in his office. OK fine so far -- hoping this stuff moves out by the afternoon...

It got a couple more heavy pour downs in the morning and it got warmer and a bit sunny by noon turning LI in a warm and foggy muggy place for a while. A good lunch and Mocha :-)

By about 1 quarter to 4p he left the Camp, "nice" warm and a bit sunny -- looking good. The ride out to Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead was about good 17mi -- a good warmup.

On the parking field one he meet his team and they scouted out the circuit with a few easy laps and made up some plans... It would be a full speed ahead 15mi thingy, well, about that distance Py does more or less daily twice.

Signing in, paying the race fee, etc... still pretty nice.

The race stared a bit delayed, they got to the start as team No 2, and off they go 5mins after the first team. Chris started out pulling, Py took over next, they Craig pulled over that little incline and so on. Lap 1, 2, 3 -- they caught the group in front of they at some point, from then not much going on as far as he remembers, just cruising at up to 32mph peak, but it got dark, really dark, some wind picked up, some drops of rain set in and -- now that was a bit scary -- pretty good lightening and thunder in the sky, as the rain picked up and turned into a heavy rain storm, flooding the road in no time. Also at some period some hail like stuff came down as it was hurting a bit going at 30mph -- by that time totally soaked water in - out. Still scary lightening around, dark and the vision some what reduced to not much... just following the path of the road pushing water and avoiding the few holes/cones in/on the road known well by that time. But the rain was warm and the road clean. At some point of the race they lost there third rider. Py felt a bit sorry, but hang on to Craig and did his best with a few getting shorter pulls. Some riders must have bailed, otehre did not even started later. They finished this thing -- 15mi/39:27.2 -- huh, 1st race and Py got his race fee back+some coffee money, pretty cool :-)

For sure an experience to last.... thanks to the great work of Craig and Chris as of the other two riders!

And last, hard to be leave, the bike got wet, but like a clean shower, not dirty at all :-)


Race stats:

(click)

Speed distribution looking a bit unusual: