Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Not Much Happening in Elberta

I went out and rode the Happy Valley Time Trial course today. Boy, it is way out in BFE! If you're planning on doing this race expect lots of bugs, and be sure to look out for the antelope crossing the road. No, I'm not kidding about the antelope. I sure hope they're not out there on Saturday because they are distracting. I had to slow way down to watch them watching me. I am a wildlife junkie!

I'm glad I went. It's always nice to know ahead of time what to expect. The event flyer describes the course as "exceptionally flat with negligible elevation." I was expecting a pancake flat road. I didn't find this to be the case. There are some slight rollers, mostly the false flat type. No big deal, just not pancake flat.

The road hasn't been marked yet, so I'm unsure exactly where the turnaround will be. Plus, my bike computer seems to be broken, so I didn't have anything to tell me distance. The only way I knew I was close to where the turnaround is was the fact that there are little green mile marker signs that seem to coordinate with the distance. That, and the flyer says that there is one right hand turn, which is near mile marker 12.

One more thing: lots of big trucks use this road. Be careful!

7 comments:

Downhilldiva said...

Thanks for the heads up. Crap, antelope will be distracting. Then again trash in the road is distracting for me. Most distracting are the hot guys in lycra flying by with a whump, whump, whump of disc wheels....

Rio's Rider said...

They don't even have to have a disc wheel for me to be distracted!

crazy4rammstein said...

Yes! I love the whump-whump-whump too! (surprise surprise huh?)

Shanna, NOW you know how to ride your best in a TT and to focus like I do. Just chase those hotties down. It does work I swear!

(I swear if I ever see Mr. plate #223...see earlier post...I will probably faint...when his girl wallops me on the back of the head!)

Unknown said...

Sorry, ladies. I'm taken.
:)

But thanks for the scouting report. Is the wind going to be much of an issue out there?

Rio's Rider said...

Aw, shoot, JE! ;)

When I rode the coarse the wind was mild and coming from the east - making for a good cross breeze, which is probably why it felt uphill both directions.

Downhilldiva said...

JE- were your ears burning? ;) Good plan BG, chase the hotties. Hmmmm, I'm starting to look forward to this!

Rio's Rider said...

Keep in mind, ladies, they're sending out the juniors first, then the masters, then the women. So, unless you like chasing down the youth or the older folk, you'll have to get your lycra-fix during warm up.