Grand Prix of Groveport State TT

A massive thunderstorm rolled thru Groveport which delayed the start of the race by 45 minutes. By the time my start slot rolled around the sun was out, the roads were dry and the wind was gusting 15-25 mph.

For the first 4 miles I went out hard trying to take advantage of the tail wind. Thru the first 8 miles I was averaging close to 28 mph. Over the next several miles it was a cross wind with some rollers. My pace slowed but not too badly. Due to the wind, the guys riding the non-areo division were really struggling as I passed them.

Between miles 12-19 it was a mix of either dead-on headwinds or cross wind coming off my left shoulder. This is about the time I entered the Hurt Locker.

Right around mile 20 we made another right turn and got a nice 1.5 mile tailwind. I was able to push some big gears and actually recover a little bit. Then a left turn for the the final 1.5 mile finish stretch back into the wind.

I thought I had a chance to break 54, but the last mile of wind really took its toll.

Finish time 54:32 (25.7 mph avg). The 50-54 was an extremely competitive field. My time would have won the Cat3 and Cat4 race and placed me 14th overall among all individual racers. I was officially 4th in the 50-54, but 1st and 3rd place were out of state residents. So that moved up to the silver medal for Ohio finishers.

This is one of my favorite races of the year partly because it's close to home and partly because Jim and COBC do a great job running the event. This year a huge storm rolled through right before race time causing a delay. It ended up being unbelievably windy during the race. I had tailwind for the first half and thought I was doing great. Then I turned and ran into a giant wall of wind. @#$%. Anyway, it was my personal best time. And I got a second place in the 45-49 age group thanks to the fact that alot of the really fast guys who usually compete in my age group are from Indiana and decided not to make the trip over.